It Should Have Been Her
by SalvatoreStoleMyHeart
Summary: Stefan and Elena have always known each other's name and face, but they truly meet at a football game. Two and a half years later they see each again for the first time. Despite the unavoidable attraction between the two, things get in the way. He's in Mystic Falls, she's in Bulgaria. Distance is a problem but hidden truths is another problem they must face together! All human!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my first fanfiction- Let me know what you think and any reviews would be great :) I don't know whether to do this as a one shot or keep it going- let me know what you think ! ****I hope you enjoy it.**

It's been two and a half years since Elena and Stefan last saw each other. They had kept in touch, but how much can you keep writing when you don't share the same life. He was living in Mystic Falls and she had moved to Europe when she was barely 10 years old. The only time they did see each other was during the summer when Elena would go back to Mystic Falls to see everyone again. The last time they saw each other they were 16 and it was at a football match. They barely knew each other. They knew each other's face and names and occasionally said hi, but nothing more. However, during that football match, things changed between them. They were sitting next to each other and for the first time, they talked like they never had before. Neither one of them could tell you who won that football game because they were more focused on each other than on the sport. Ever since that day, whenever Elena would fly back to Mystic Falls for the summer, he would fly out. It happened two years in a row and they both accepted it, because by the end of the day, they realized that they hardly knew each other. They both led their lives and occasionally talked but that was about it. On New Year's Eve, everything changed- the year 2012 was about to start. Both, Stefan and Elena, were invited to the same New Year's Eve party and they both knew each other would be there (thanks to Facebook). The thought of it made them smile- seeing each other for the first time in two and a half years. The party was taking place in a mansion, a 45-minute drive from Mystic Falls. Stefan was having dinner there with his high school friends; Elena was coming in a bus that was organized.

~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena was quietly getting ready for the party. She was dreading her drive to the mansion because she knew that she was going to be surrounded by strangers. One of the down sides of growing outside of Mystic Falls- you quickly become a stranger. In a town so small, everyone knows each other, and when an outsider comes in, they're immediately pointed out. As she reached the meeting point for the bus, Elena spoted out a girl that she occasionally saw during her stay in Mystic Falls, Ashleigh. Elena made her way to her, but as soon as she was close enough, Ashleigh turned her head and pretended not to see her and walked away. Elena's heart sank a little further; she forgot how girls could be so bitchy to one another. Elena knew that Ashleigh had a fling with Stefan, it was all over Facebook. She didn't blame either of them; Stefan was a living Greek God with his dirty blond hair that was spiked up to perfection and his deep green eyes. Ashleigh on the other hand could easily be a model, no jokes. She had long brownish blond hair and big blue eyes. Her smile was contagious, seeing her smile made you want to smile. Nonetheless, it doesn't mean that Ashleigh was the best person to be around, she was mostly a grade A bitch. How she ended up having a fling with Stefan remained a mystery to Elena. To Elena, Stefan was probably one of the sweetest guys that she had met. When they had talked during that football match or on Facebook, she realized how easily it was to get attached to him. She felt as though she could pour her entire heart out to him if she wanted to. The bus was about to leave and everyone was getting on. No questions need to be asked, Elena was sitting alone on a double seat- no one knew her, or if they did: they pretended they didn't.

~!~!~!~!~!~

Stefan was eating dinner next to Caroline. Over the past few years Stefan, Caroline, Tyler and Matt had bonded. Whenever you saw one of them, you knew the other three would be around. They looked out for each other anytime and anywhere. Whenever Damon came back from Europe, he would join them and they would constantly hang out. Damon left for Europe a few years back and that's where he met Elena. They saw a lot of each other when they were in Europe and they quickly became best friends. Never once had they thought of dating or even hooking up. It was a perfectly clean relationship and they even started calling themselves twins. It was an inside joke between the two of them that no one understood, but everyone called them 'The Twins'. Some people thought the joke was real; others were smart enough to notice the difference-particularly in the eyes, his were a piercing sky blue while hers were endless chocolate brown. Occasionally Damon would talk about Elena to Stefan, but nothing more. Stefan was more aware of what was happening in her life than she knew what was happening in his.

"Hey Care, guess what?" asked Stefan with his mouth full.

"What Stefano?"

"Lena is coming tonight," he answered with a smile on his face. Although he didn't know her that well, he felt comfortable enough to call her 'Lena'.

"I knooooooow. You've told me the same thing five times now," Caroline answered with her blond curls bopping around her head.

"But I'm just so excited to see her again, it's been so long."

"Just eat please," concluded Caroline.

Caroline and Stefan were the closest friends out of the four. They laughed for the same things and thought the same way. Tyler and Matt didn't miss a beat of all the inside jokes though, they laughed along with Caroline and Stefan. However the friendship that they both shared was a strong one, quite unbreakable. Damon, who was sitting next to Stefan, just smiled at his plate. He liked the idea of Stefan getting excited to see Elena again.

~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena got to the mansion at 11:45pm, more or less in time to say hi to the few people that she knew and then watch the fireworks when the clock would hit midnight. Caroline was waiting for her at the entrance. Elena loved her, she was one of the true friends that Elena had and could count on. As she entered the mansion, Elena noticed how beautifully it was decorated. There were stars and banners hanging low, but not low enough for people to tear them off. It was a mixture of green, blue, orange, red and yellow. You could easily think that you just entered Rainbow Land. Elena smiled, it's New Years, she thought, might as well make it colourful. All around the dancefloor there were white chairs placed, so anyone, anytime could sit and rest for a bit before dancing some more. On the left side of the dancefloor there was a small porch that led to the garden. Straight ahead of the dancefloor, there were double doors that led to a bigger porch; the bar was stationed there. A few steps led to the same gigantic garden. The place was beautiful!

"Is Damon here?" asked Elena. He was the only person that she could feel completely comfortable with, excluding Caroline.

"Damon? Yeah, he's here somewhere. Let's go look for him," and with that Caroline led Elena through the crowd of overflowing people.

The party was happening only on the first floor of the mansion, but it was big enough for Elena to get lost a couple of time. As Elena made her way to a side porch, she stopped dead in her tracks. Standing a few feet from her was Stefan. He wasn't facing her and she didn't want him to, she wanted to be able to stare at his beauty. He seemed to be looking in every direction but hers, as if he was looking for someone. Little did she know that he was looking for her. Over the last two years Stefan had changed for the best. He got taller and his body was full of muscles. He wore a dark blue button down shirt and jeans. Both piece of clothing looked as if it was made for him, it fit him so perfectly. Elena turned around and started going back to where she came from. She didn't want to go and say hello and then have awkward silences upon awkward silences. It gets pretty heavy when two people don't know what to say so they look anywhere but in each other's eyes and then unconsciously start rocking on their heels. Elena shuddered at the thought. She turned around and saw Damon staring at her with his head cocked to the right and a crooked smile on his face. He was making fun of her and she rolled her eyes while making her way to him. They hugged each other as if they hadn't seen each other in weeks when it has been only a couple of days. They somehow never got bored of each other and that's something that only best friends could share. He held out his hand and she took if as he led her to the dancefloor. The music picked up and they were suddenly hand jiving. They both learnt it in Europe and they would each in turn teach each other new moves. They've danced so many times together that they knew what moves would follow each one. People eventually stopped dancing and started to stare because Damon and Elena dancing together was simply extraordinary. The floor was extremely slippery due to numerous drinks that had fallen on the floor making Elena slip every so often. A minute later, Damon twirled Elena too fast and the next second she had her back on the floor. Elena was laughing so hard she was unable to lift herself up. Damon was holding Elena's hands trying to lift her up but he was also laughing and didn't have all of his strength. He finally got her up, both still laughing until their stomachs were burning. They sat down on the chairs that were surrounding the dancefloor to catch their breath. Damon had his hand on Elena's knee and was making sure that she wasn't hurt. From his point of view, her fall seemed pretty bad but she kept saying that she felt absolutely no pain.

"Have you seen Ste-," Damon started but was interrupted by someone more or less screaming 'FINALLY' in their direction.

Somehow Elena knew that it was Stefan talking, and that he was talking to her. She flew off her chair and jumped into his arms. It was one of those moments where you don't think, but you just act on impulse. Elena had imagined a simple 'hello' when she would see him again, but never had she thought that she would have been hugging him as if her life depended on it. She felt his arms around her waist, as if he too, was holding on for dear life. It was probably one of the longest hugs Elena has lived through and she didn't mind one single bit.

"Don't let me go, for at _least_ another minute. I'm timing it", said Stefan while still holding onto Elena. Without thinking, Stefan kissed Elena's neck and she returned it with a kiss on the cheek. It felt so natural, as if they've known each other forever. Neither of them wanted to let go, so they kept hugging.

"Lenaaaa. I'm SO happy to see you again. Damn, it's been at least two years."

"Two and a half years Stef," answered Elena with a smile. They both reluctantly let go of each other but none of them could wipe their smile off of their faces. It felt as though there was a gravity pulling them to each other, and they couldn't fight it, even if they tried. Elena noticed that he was slightly on the effect of alcohol, which may have been the reason why it didn't feel awkward hugging him for so long, or kissing his cheek as if they've always known each other. As they stood in front of Damon who was still sitting on the chair, Stefan and Elena mentally replayed that hug and realized that it wasn't all hips and bones; it was perfect, as if their bodies were puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together.

~!~!~!~!~!~

The party was well underway and Elena and Stefan hadn't seen each other since their hug. As she made her way towards the dancefloor, she spotted him standing alone, watching people dance. Stefan immediately turned her way and smiled as if he was a kid on Christmas day. How he knew that Elena was coming all comes down to the gravity felt by both. Stefan opened his arms when she was close enough and she gladly returned the embrace. As they let go of each other, Stefan handed her his beer and she took a gulp. She hates beer, always have, but for some reason, she didn't mind drinking it right now. As she handed back his beer, he took hold of her other hand and intertwined their fingers. Once again, it felt so natural, nothing forced. Stefan led Elena to the porch on the left side of the dancefloor.

"Lena, I will need you to hold me while I call Damon, I'm not extremely stable right now."

"How much did you drink Stefan?" Elena couldn't help herself from asking. The last time she saw him, he was extremely serious about alcohol and didn't even drink a drop. Now here he was, asking a girl he barely knew to support him while he made a call to his brother. Damon never picked up the phone.

"I don't know, a lot?" Stefan answered. "You?"

"A fair amount, but I'm not drunk."

"Alright then, we need to go get a drink. You and I."

As Stefan guided the way to the bar, he once again had Elena's hand intertwined with his. As he was about to order a couple of shots, they both heard someone call out Stefan's name. They turned around and saw Ashleigh heading their way.

"Oh. My. Gosh! Elena! How have you been? It's been ages since I last saw you," started Ashleigh and she hugged Elena. Elena didn't respond to the hug because a) her hand was still held by Stefan, and b) Elena knew that Ashleigh came up to her just because of Stefan. Their fling was long done, but Ashleigh didn't like the fact that she couldn't claim him anymore. Although Stefan was influenced by alcohol, he was quick on the uptake and immediately understood the situation between the two girls. He gently squeezed Elena's hand to reassure her that everything is under control.

"Hey Ash, your friends are calling you on the dancefloor," said Stefan while pointing to the furthest spot from where he was sitting. Stefan turned around and saw Elena looking at him with one eyebrow raised, questioning him. He didn't answer though, he simply winked. At that moment, Elena knew that no matter what, she'd always have someone to watch her back, someone on her side.

~!~!~!~!~!~

The night was a blast and Elena spent her entire night with Damon, Stefan and Caroline. Both girls spent a majority of their night taking care of the boys, but as they were funny drunkards, their night wasn't ruined. All four of them were on the dancefloor acting like total retards but having the time of their lives. They didn't care who was watching or who was judging, they were having a good time and that was all that mattered to them at the moment.

The night unfortunately had to come to an end. The dance floor was completely deserted because everyone was already making their way to the parking lot. Of course, however, Stefan was still there, half dancing to the beat. Elena walked up to him and hugged him to say goodbye. Once again, Stefan kissed her neck, however this time he moved up to her cheek and he planted a final kiss at the corner of her lips. She was glad that he didn't kiss her completely on the lips, it would have been too soon. Elena was already falling for him. She knew it was crazy, but spending an entire night with Stefan Salvatore can do that to you. Elena didn't want to get attached too quickly, too hard because she knew that with a guy like Stefan, it was easy to get her fragile heart broken.

On their way back home, both, Stefan and Elena. Were replaying every moment they had spent together that night. The year 2012 has started in beauty for the both of them.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So I decided to go on with the story. This is my first fanfic, so please any reviews would be great.. What you liked/didn't like.. any ideas of how things should go between the characters.. just anything :)  
Hope you enjoy it ! :)**

**xx**

* * *

Elena woke up with a smile on her face. She had dreamed of Stefan that night and she wished that she didn't have to wake up. Her dream was better than reality- wasn't it always the case? She'd taken Stefan's number when they were at the football match, almost three years ago. She decided to give it a shot and text him.

Elena: Stefan! Twas really good seeing you again yesterday. I hope you're feeling better today ;)

She knew that it was a cheesy text, but she didn't regret sending it, she was only hoping that his number hasn't changed over the years. Minutes slowly turned into hours and her phone remained silent. Elena came to the conclusion that his number had changed when suddenly there was a quick Beep.

Stefan: Yeah! It was awesome seeing you again! I hope to see you before you leave. I'm a lot better today ;) see you soon!

Elena: I hope to see you too before I leave. I was looking at pictures from last night and I was laughing alone.

Stefan: Hahahahahaa. You'll show them to me :) we'll probably see each at Caroline's party.

Elena: I hope that you'll behave at Caroline's

Elena remembered that Caroline had vaguely mentioned her party but she wasn't sure whether it was still on. Then again, that was a stupid thought because Caroline's party never fail and they're always a blast.

~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena got to Caroline house with Aunt Jenna and Jeremy. They were one of the first ones to arrive. Caroline had asked them to buy a couple of things on their way because she wasn't sure that she had enough, so them arriving early was actually perfect. Elena was always amazed whenever she got to Caroline's house. It was by far one of the most beautiful houses that she's seen. When you walked up the pathway, you came next to a pool surrounded by a wooden deck. There was a railing around the deck. You could easily think that you entered a hotel. As Elena was helping Caroline, she figured that tonight would be the first night that she would see Stefan properly, as in, sober. Half an hour passed and Elena grew anxious by the minute because she knew that he would arrive anytime soon. At that moment she wished that Elijah were by her side. Elijah was her childhood friend, one that truly cannot be replaced. She and Elijah were closer than she and Damon. Damon was her best friend; Elijah was her brother from another family. Both their families moved to Europe together and they ended up living in the same block. If Elijah were here, he'd know what to say to Elena to calm her down. She didn't talk about Stefan to anyone since New Year's, nor did she plan to, she liked the fact that it was her little secret for now. However, if Elijah were here, she would have told him everything without thinking twice about it. She hated the fact that he had stayed in Europe for the holidays and didn't come back to Mystic Falls. Elena stopped thinking about Elijah when she heard Meredith say her name. Elena and Meredith met recently, but things immediately clicked between them. Elena was racking her brain trying to remember what Meredith has asked when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She didn't have to turn around to see who was the owner of the hand because the touch had sent shivers through her entire body and only one person could do that; Stefan.

"Hey Lena," he said as she turned around, his emerald green eyes locking in her chocolate ones. They stood like that for a moment before he smiled and looked over to Meredith to greet her. As he let go of her shoulder, she instantly missed his touch, she felt cold. She smiled at Meredith and excused herself. She headed towards the bar and poured herself a drink- that was bound to keep her warm. Elena went back to Meredith, but her eyes were darting back and forth, searching for Stefan. She somehow felt more relaxed when she saw him in a deep conversation with Damon, very animated one too. Stefan used a lot of hand gestures as if trying to make Damon picture his story.

Elena's drink was once again finished and she walked over to the mini bar that Caroline had placed by the pool. Stefan made his way to her and poured himself a drink.

"So, where are you staying?" he asked.

"The usual house down the road."

"Fun? So, when are you leaving for Europe again?"

"It's not so bad. I'm going back the 15th," Elena answered half-heartedly. It was the 5th and she had only 10 days left in Europe. She knew she would have to make the most out of those days.

"Elena, come with me." He led her to a chair that was placed a little further from the rest of the chairs, as if someone had wanted some alone time and placed it just far enough not to be part of any group conversation. The chair was in plain sight, everyone could see it, but no one bothered to place it back next to other chairs. "Sit here. I remember you taking pictures during New Year's Eve. Do you mind showing them to me?"

Elena smiled and sat down on the chair while he sat on the arm. She took the camera out of its case and started flicking through the pictures she had taken on New Year's. In nearly every picture he was there- the consequences of spending an entire with Elena Gilbert, she paparazzis everyone. Nearly every picture of Stefan that passed, he made a disgusted face, as in ashamed of how he behaved. One of the pictures was of him with his eyes half-closed, arms in the air and his blue button-down shirt was open revealing his perfectly strong torso. An immediate "oh no!" escaped his lips and Elena giggled. She stole a quick glance in his direction and she realized that he was blushing and his hand was on his forehead as if trying to remember what he was doing when the picture was taken.

"Don't worry Stefan, you didn't do anything stupid", she reassured him.

"I literally don't remember anything from that night. I mean, I remember seeing you and giving you a gigantic hug while telling you that it was awesome seeing you again. After that, it's a blur of images."

Elena couldn't stop herself from smiling while remembering the hug they had shared when they first saw each other at the party. "Yeah, we were well into the hug when you told me that out hug should last at least a minute and you were timing it."

"No, no, no no no," he said while shaking his head. Elena couldn't stop heself from giggling, he was simply adorable when he was embarrassed.

"You seriously can't remember anything else?" asked Elena.

"When I look at the pictures you took, I remember the moment, what was happening during the shot, but if you hadn't shown me anything then no… Nothing." Elena stayed silent, she was slightly sad. She had wanted him to remember his night because to her, New Year's Eve was memorable because of Stefan. Every memory she has of that night includes him. What she didn't know however was that Stefan's memory of the night includes her, only her. He didn't remember all the words being exchanged, the conversation that he had with some people or the music that was playing, but he remembered that she was there. He wanted to hold onto that thought and never let it go, but she didn't need to find out.

"Let's go get a drink," Stefan said without thinking, bringing them both to reality.

They made their way to the bar and joined Damon who was already pouring himself a drink. He smiled as he saw Stefan and Elena approaching together. He didn't say it out loud, but he couldn't stop thinking that they would make an amazingly cute couple. Damon couldn't help but notice that there were sparks, no, there was fire between the two. His smile widened at the thought of his two best friends dating and he sighed.

Elena started telling stories about the 31st December and the things that both boys did. None of them could remember due to the alcohol that had affected them during the night. They did stuff they couldn't even imagine like hugging a coconut tree, or lying in the parking lot singing songs by Bruno Mars, sitting on chairs and continuously asking for a refill of water. As they reencountered stories, Stefan poured them each drinks-Malibu mixed with pineapple juice, perfect mixture.

"Let's go talk with Jenna," Stefan suddenly said to Elena.

"Let's go talk."

"No, let's talk with Jenna," he repeated.

"Let's go talk, as in, you want me to come with you?" she asked with a slight smile playing at the corner of her lips.

"Yes, please?" he asked and his eyes locked with hers. She simply couldn't say no when his stare was so intense, as if she could burn if he continued. She looked away, confused by the feelings that she could get only by looking into his beautiful eyes. She knew she was falling for him; she wasn't even going to deny it to herself.

Elena and Stefan got to Aunt Jenna and she was more than delighted to see him. Apparently she was his teacher when he was around 8 years old and she hasn't seen him since she left for Europe, 10 years ago. Just a proof of how small Mystic Falls actually is. Imagine seeing Stefan as an 8 years old kid and then suddenly seeing him when he's 18, quite the shocker. Elena smiled while observing the interaction between her aunt and Stefan, they easily fell into a conversation about the past. She couldn't help and think what would her parents think of Stefan, would they approve, would they feel as comfortable as Aunt Jenna?

"So, you guys are leaving on the 15th, so soon. You can already start counting on your fingers." Elena looked down at her hands and realized that every day she would use one finger less to count her remaining days. At the thought her heart clenched up, she didn't want to leave.

"Don't say that Stefan," Elena said, she couldn't bare the thought of leaving. She didn't want to hear anymore of the conversation so she turned around and saw Tyler coming her way. She smiled and started talking to him. She liked Tyler, they've never been closed, but when they saw each other, they could really talk, have proper conversations. They both eventually made their way to the railing surrounding the pool. Caroline, Meredith and Rebekah were there already, talking. Elena walked up to Caroline and hugged her as a way of saying thank you for the party. The blonde immediately understood and returned the hug.

"Thank you, Care."

"You're more than welcome Lena! I just wish you weren't leaving so soon."

"How about we don't bring that up right now, yeah?"

"Sure thing," Caroline answered with a slight twinkle in her eyes. She was extremely emotional when it came down to people she loved leaving.

Damon and Stefan came up to the group of girls and they all started talking. Although Elena was talking with Damon, she could feel someone staring at her. She quickly glanced to the side and sure enough, Stefan was leaning against the railing listening to Caroline, but staring at Elena. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, but it was enough to make the gravity between them increase by 100%. She suddenly felt someone tug on her hand and she noticed that Damon was trying to get her attention again; he then pulled her to the side, away from the group of friends. She broke eye contact and followed Damon. As she looked over her shoulder, Caroline was doing the same thing Damon was doing to Elena, trying to get Stefan's attention.

"What's with you and Stefan?" asked Damon, going straight to the point.

"Nothing," she answered. It was true, there was nothing going on between them, just a whole lot of staring.

"Cut the crap Lena. You guys are literally having a hard time keeping your eyes off of each other."

"I swear Damon, there's nothing between the two of us," answered Elena while stifling a laugh. She loved it when Damon was being so curious and was trying hard to prove a point to her and was failing. "He's just a friend that I've found again."

Damon didn't say anything but looked at her with a puzzled look. "'A friend that you _found_ again'… What, was he lost before?" he sarcastically asked. Elena laughed out loud. Damon loved that about her; he could actually be himself with Elena because she understood all of his jokes and his dry humor. "Lena, I've been hanging out with Stefan every holiday for about four years, I got to know him quite well. Let me make this clear for you, he has never looked at anyone the way he looks at you; so intensely all. The. Freaking. Time." Elena smiled and felt her cheeks reddened. She was thankful that where they were standing was somewhat dark because she didn't want Damon to find out she was blushing. The music that was playing from the iPod suddenly picked up and Damon held out his hand to Elena. She took it and he instantly twirled her. They started dancing on the deck to the beat of the music. Caroline who was still standing by the railing of the pool turned around and stared with a smile on her face. It's official, she thought, they're the best dancers anyone has ever seen. The way Elena moved and responded to Damon's body, it was as if she knew what he was going to do and when he would twirl her. Caroline knew that it wasn't the case because every time she saw the couple dancing, it was different, not once was it ever slightly similar, it was always completely improvised. Caroline sighed, she wished she knew how to dance like that, it seemed so much fun. Elena and Damon slowed down and Caroline noticed that her best friend was teaching Damon new dance moves. She first slowly showed the move itself and then showed how it could be put into the dance and then they tried it out to the beat of the music. Caroline was amazed by how quickly they had learnt it, barely a minute and it already looked as though they've known that new move forever.

~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena was next to the bar again.

"Let's go get a drink", came Stefan's voice from behind her. She smiled, it was about the third time that he asked her for a drink tonight. He took out two glasses and poured quite a bit of Malibu into one of the glass.

"Hey hey hey. That's enough!"

Stefan looked up and smiled. "Are you going out tonight?"

"Yeah…" He didn't think twice about pouring Elena more Malibu. He added pineapple juice. As she tasted it, she could feel the drink go down her throat and through her stomach. It tasted amazing.

"So," started Elena, not sure whether she could have a proper conversation with him. "What's up with Ashleigh?"

Elena was glad that she wasn't invited tonight, but then again, Ashleigh was never friends with Caroline, they just knew each other cause Ashleigh had a fling with Stefan. However, as soon as the fling ended, Ashleigh clung unto Caroline. Caroline wasn't stupid though, she knew that Ashleigh was only clinging so she could stay close to Stefan. Caroline quickly cleared the tables between the two and told her straight up to stop using her to get to Stefan. Ashleigh had backed up in an instant.

Stefan went to sit on a sofa and Elena followed. Their knees were nearly touching but it was enough to send the sparks between them flying all over the place. Elena's heart rate sped up as she felt the electricity run through her.

"Did I kiss Ashleigh during New Year's?"

Elena paused for a moment trying to remember. She had definitely seen them talking, but that was it. "No, I don't think you did."

"Alright, good!" he answered sounding relived.

"Uhmmm… Explain your case," Elena requested. She was confused because he had seemed quite enthused when they were talking during New Year's.

"Don't get me wrong, she's a great girl and all, but I don't like how she treats people. When she came to us while we were at the shot bar, I knew that she pretended to be best friends with you because I was sitting right next to you."

"Quite modest, I see."

"You know I don't mean it like that," he said with a smile and placed a hand on her knee. "It's just that I know it pissed her off when I ended things with her. Ever since, she hasn't really grasped the fact that we're done and that it's time for her to just move on."

Elena and Stefan kept on talking for another good fifteen minutes and they were amazed about how easily the conversation came; neither of them were actually racking their brains to find a topic, it just came naturally. They ended up talking about when they first saw each other during New Year's Eve.

"It could have been really awkward. Like I would come say hi and then there wouldn't be any conversation. So I told myself that I would come say hello later. I was dancing with Damon and then I fell because of the wet floor."

"Really? I was the drunk one and you're the one who falls. Well done Lena," he said playfully. Elena couldn't help a giggle escape her mouth.

"Damon and I were sitting on the chairs around the dance floor and that's when I heard you say 'FINALLY'. I see you and that's when we had that humungous hug."

"That big hug, when we head out, you good for another one?" Stefan asked with a smile on his face and his eyes locking with hers. His hand was still on her knee and she couldn't think straight. Why did he have that effect on her? She was barely able to nod and then smiled.

~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena was walking on the deck when she saw Stefan walk up to her.

"Could I have one last look at the pictures you took on New Year's so I can at least have a say of which ones you're allowed to put on Facebook."

Stefan stood behind her and wrapped his arm around her neck, as if hugging her from behind. Elena flicked through the pictures trying to ignore the gravity between them. She instantly wanted to turn around and kiss him and it took all of her strength to remain in control. He judged each picture and was debating with himself about whether some of them were appropriate or not. When they were done, instead of loosening his grip on her shoulders, Stefan tightened it, making Elena lean into him. Her back was pressed against his strong torso and she unconsciously rested her head on his shoulder. It felt so natural and she knew that right now it was real, alcohol had nothing to do with their actions. They were both fully aware of what they were doing. He eventually loosened his grip only to slide his hand down her arm and intertwine his fingers with hers. Their hands fit perfectly together, her soft little hand in his warm large hand. He led her to the bar once again.

"You like the bar don't you?" Elena asked with her eyebrows arched.

"It makes me have a better night. It gives me confidence."

"Confidence? You don't have enough confidence when you're sober?"

"Nope," he answered popping the 'P'," I have some, but not enough. Like now, I have extra confidence but I'm fully aware of what I'm doing. I was confident enough to take your hand and not fear rejection, not fear the fact that you might've let go the minute I touched your hand." This somehow made Elena relax. She felt relived that he had fears as well, although he looks like a Greek God, it didn't mean that he felt like one. To make him understand that she was glad he took her hand, she gently squeezed his fingers. He looked down and smiled at the beautiful girl standing right next to him.

"Alright, we're taking shots. Vodka."

"Stefan, those are gross. Seriously, can't we drink something else?"

"Lena, I know they're beyond digusting, but don't think about it, just drink it."

There was only one glass, so they both had to take their shots individually. Elena took hers first. She felt the alcohol burn her throat and couldn't stop herself from pulling a face. Stefan laughed out loud, it was one of the funniest face he's seen a girl do while taking a shot.

"Alright. It's your turn now," she said when she had recovered.

"Elena, I'm going to puke."

"Listen, if you drink your shot and you need to puke, give me your glass and I'll take you to the bathroom."

"Why are you going to take my glass to the bathroom," Stefan asked confused and Elena didn't even try to stifle her laugh.

"Noooooo, you _give_ me your glass and I take _you_ to the bathroom."

"Riiiiiiight. Makes more sense now. Yes, please do that."

"I'm sure it does. Now, bottoms up!"

Stefan gulped down his drink and closed his eyes trying to stop the drink from coming back up. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he conclued.

"Hey, I just thought of that, you know when was the last time I saw you?" asked Elena.

"Yeah, New Year's," he answered with a smile. He was proud of his joke and she knew it. Elena cocked her head to the side trying hard not to smile. "Okay fine," he continued. "We last saw each other at the stadium during that football match. To be honest, I can't remember who won, I was talking to you the entire game."

"Wow, you actually remember," she asked surprised. She never thought that he would remember her at the stadium.

"Yeah, 'cause after all, you're pretty special," he said and winked at her. Elena felt her cheeks blush as he turned around and went to talk to Caroline.

~!~!~!~!~!~

The music picked up and more and more people started to dance. Damon walked over to Elena. "May I have a dance?"

"Of course Damon. You don't even need to ask, you know I'm always up for it."

He twirled her onto the veranda that had become a dancefloor. The music that was playing had a strong beat, perfect to hand-jive to it. Elena looked at Damon, and he nodded. He was thinking of the exact same thing: dance like there was no tomorrow. He started twirling Elena in every possible direction and as usual, people around stopped talking and stared at the couple, envying them. Damon let go of Elena's hand and she took a couple of steps back, people around thought that they'd finished and some were even disappointed. However, Damon ran to Elena and when he was close enough, he flipped her over backwards. Some people gasped, others just had their mouths open, while Elena landed elegantly on her feet and kept on twirling. In the middle on the dance, she and Damon high-fived, because they even had to admit that the flip was epically good- they really had nailed it this time. Stefan was standing on the edge of the veranda, watching Damon and Elena. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was amazed at how swiftly they both moved together. He was surprised at how Elena kept on moving even after all the twirls and flips; he didn't understand how she could keep up. The music ended, Damon and Elena hugged and both walked their separate ways. Elena was making her way outside, her head bent down. She felt someone hold her arm and say 'My turn'. She looked up and saw Stefan smiling down at her; she smiled back and nodded. She turned around and went back to where she was with Damon moments ago. As they started dancing, Elena and Stefan felt the magnetic pull strengthen. They danced to the beat of the music, everyone who was watching noticed that it was not as good as when she was dancing with Damon, but everyone could see that the chemistry between the couple was intense. Whenever they were facing each other, Stefan would stare down into her endless brown eyes, both smiling. Whenever Stefan was holding her body close to his, the electricity intensified, making their dance look like it came from a movie.

The party kept on going until some people wanted to take it to the club. They all agreed, but Elena knew that as soon as they would get to the club, she would lose Stefan- the club was just so big. As they were all making their way to the bus, Stefan turned around to look at the entire group of friends and literally screamed:

"I'm going to spend my entire night with Damon and Elena okay ?"

Elena looked away and blushed with a big smile on her face while Damon laughed out loud.

They got to the club and some people were having trouble going in, either because they looked to young or because the security wanted to keep people out just because. Stefan got to Elena's side and snaked his arm around her waist and whispered to her, "Lena, I've got a really bad feeling that we're not going to be able to get in. So, let's pretend that we're going out." He didn't give Elena time to answer or react that he took her hand and intertwined their fingers. Elena was completely confused by the situation that the only word that managed to escape her mouth was: "What?"

"Pretend like we're crazy in love; as if we can't live without each other."

As they walked to the door, Stefan squeezed her hand slightly as if to comfort her. The security looked down at the couple and then glanced at their intertwined fingers. A small smile came to his face as he nodded and let the couple pass. They got inside and Stefan ever so slightly pecked Elena on the cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: This chapter is slightly short, but I thought that you guys should know what happened at the club. Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites :) I'm having writer's block at the moment with this story so I'm not sure when I'll update, but I promise I will try hurry. If you have any ideas about this story, don't hesitate to tell me and I'll give you the credits ;)**

**Enjoy the chapter, and please review :)**

**xxx**

* * *

The music in the club was epic. The songs weren't just technos, they were the type of songs that you could dance and sing your heart out to. Elena was on the dancefloor, her eyes closed and singing the lyrics out at the top of her voice- she was practically in her own world. She opened her eyes and realized that she didn't know anyone around her, however, as she looked behind her, she saw Meredith, Rebekah, Tyler, Caroline and Stefan dancing in a circle. She decided to join them. More or less everyone was making fun of Stefan as he was dancing like nobody was watching him. He was making a fool out of himself and he knew it. After a few minutes, Elena handed her camera to Meredith and asked her to take a picture of Caroline, Stefan and her. She handed the camera over to Meredith, but as crazy as Meredith is, she started to take pictures of herself instead of the three others. She eventually took a picture of the three and as Elena was making her way back to Meredith to get her camera when Stefan started pulling Elena outside. He was holding her at her elbow and she twisted her arm in a way that she was also holding onto his elbow. Elena was pulling him inside towards Meredith while he was puling her outside. It was as if they were having their own personal tug of war.

"Enough with the pictures.. Enough!" Stefan said with a smile. He didn't want a repeat of New Year's Eve where Elena would have hideous pictures of him, although this time he was more or less sober.

"Yeah, no more pictures. But Meredith has my camera and she's taking pictures of herself. I need my camera back", explained Elena leaning further towards the dancefloor dragging Stefan with her.

Meredith looked away from the camera and spotted Stefan and Elena in the middle of their tug of war; Elena reaching out for her camera while Stefan desperately trying to get Elena outside. She finally handed the camera over to its owner and Elena followed Stefan outside to a bar; go figure. Damon was already there and so they joined him. Damon gave a smirk to Elena, discretely reminding her of the conversation they had at Caroline's house about her and Stefan. Elena shook her head slightly and rolled her eyes.

"What do you want to drink?" both boys asked Elena at the same time and then laughed.

"Water's good. Thanks," she answered.

"Elenaaaaa. You're in a club, who drinks water in a club, seriously?" asked Damon.

"I'm just really thirsty, and I want to drink something cold and fast," Elena explained herself.

"Seriously Lena, what would you like to drink?" asked Stefan again. Elena started to respond but he cut her off by saying, "And water doesn't count." He winked at her and Elena couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"No, seriously guys, I want water," Elena insisted.

"Water for the lady," Damon told the barman half heartedly while pointing at the girl. Elena thanked Damon and the boys started talking. Elena turned around and started looking at who else was in the club, people who she might know. As she turned back around to face the boys, Damon held out a Majito to her with a smirk on his face. Elena rolled her eyes and took her drink.

"Here in Mystic Falls, we hug to say 'thank you'," said Stefan.

"I knoooow. I was about to hug Damon. No one is in a hurry," she replied with a slight tone of sarcasm. Stefan chuckled and took a gulp from his beer.

Elena hugged Damon and whispered 'thank you' in his ear. He nodded with a smile on his face. She regretted the fact that she lied to everyone about when she was really leaving Mystic Falls. She wasn't leaving the 15th like she said she was, she was leaving the night of the 6th- tomorrow night. Damon and Caroline were the only ones who knew, that would explain Caroline's almost breakdown when they were standing on the deck by her pool only a few hours ago.

"Did you also pay for my drink?" she asked Stefan, attempting to change her trains of thoughts. He didn't answer but simply nodded with a small smile on his face. Elena hugged him; she was in his arms much longer than she was in Damon's, but none of them minded at all. Damon noticed it and sighed in contempt. All he could think about was "they're freaking cute! Hookup already!" Stefan had his eyes closed and his hands on Elena's back, while one of Elena's hands were in his hair while the other was on his back. They both let go and Damon looked Elena directly in her eyes and said "You do know that he didn't pay for your drink, right?"

Elena daggered Stefan with her eyes and had her mouth open in shock, "You sneaky bastard," she said half giggling. Stefan arched his eyebrows and shrugged with a goofy smile on his face. A smile that Elena simply couldn't resist.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

Stefan, Elena, Caroline and Damon were back on the dancefloor when a song by Bruno Mars started. Elena immediately looked over to Damon and Stefan who were in their own world pulling out some crazy dance moves that no one could even think possible. Then again, it was Damon and Stefan; with both of them together, anything is possible. Elena was remembering the New Year's Eve when they were both singing that exact same song in the parking lot- Just the Way You Are. The version that was playing wasn't the original one; this one had more beat to it, so people could dance. By the time Elena got one of their attention, the song was already changing- a proof of how much in their world they were: it took an entire song to get their attention. As the song was transitioning, Elena put her hands around Stefan's neck and he encircled her waist. They were hugging in the middle on the dancefloor and Elena felt the urge to tell him the truth about her leaving date.

"This is my last night out. I'm leaving the 6th," Elena told Stefan while still hugging him. Stefan had heard her every word, but didn't believe it. At Caroline's she said she was leaving the 15th, in 10 days.

"Nooooooo, you're leaving the 15th. What are you talking about?" he asked calling out her bluff. Instead of answering, Elena let go of Stefan and as he saw her face, he instantly knew that she wasn't lying. Stefan looked over Elena's shoulder, at Damon who simply nodded; he had understood what was happening. Stefan took Elena's hand and led her outside where they could talk and not have to yell at each other over the music blaring out through the speakers.

"Why? Why are you telling everyone that you're leaving the 15th when you're actually leaving the 6th?" asked Stefan going straight to the point. He wasn't going to bother to sugar coat the situation.

"I didn't want people to know that I was leaving tomorrow night because I didn't want to hear people say: Have a good flight tomorrow, see you in a year." Stefan's throat clenched up when Elena said 'tomorrow night' because right now, he hadn't realized that they were the 5th. To him, the 6th was in another week or so, but not as soon as tomorrow.

'You can't just leave like that Elena. You just can't. No you can't. Tell me it's a joke. Tell me that this was a set up and it's a joke. You can't leave tomorrow Elena."

"You make it sound as if I'm dying Stefan. It's fine, we'll see each other in a year. You'll survive," she added with a small smile.

"How do you know?"

"You've managed two and a half years. A year without me should be a piece of cake. Besides, we don't really know each other Stefan."

"I know it might sound crazy, but I feel like I've known you my entire life. I feel comfortable around you and I can tell you absolutely anything. And now you're just leaving!" he said disbelievingly.

"I'm not dying Stefan, we'll skype and facebook each other. I'll be back next year. I just wanted you to know the truth about when I was leaving. I thought you deserved it," Elena said with a sigh. She really wished that she would have stayed another 10 days in Mystic Falls.

"At Caroline's place I saw you look down at your fingers when I said that you could start counting your days off. What was that all about?"

"I was counting the amount of days Aunt Jenna has left in Mystic Falls; she's staying an extra 3 weeks."

"I wish you could stay with her," he said and locked eyes with Elena. He held her hand and wished that she could stay with him.

"Stefan, how about we make tonight a good night? It's my last night, instead of sitting around brooding, how about we make the most of it; have a good time?"

"Let's go," he said and dragged Elena to the dancefloor.

As they reached the dancefloor, they realized that all of their friends were gone, either outside or either talking to other people. It was just the two of them surrounded by a bunch of strangers. The song 'Save the World' by Swedish House Mafia starting playing and they both started singing the lyrics out to each other when they got to the chorus.

_Who's gonna save the world tonight? Who's gonna bring you back to life?_ They both pointed at each other during that line.

_We're gonna make it, you and I._ Stefan lifted his hand above his head and looked at it as a sign for Elena to do the same. Elena lifted her hand above her head and Stefan high-fived it. However instead of letting go, he intertwined their fingers above their heads.

_We're gonna save the world tonight_. As they were singing that line, their eyes locked and neither of them looked away. Stefan slightly pulled Elena close to him and when she was close enough, he leaned down and kissed her full on the lips. It wasn't one of those earth-shattering kisses that you see nowadays in movies, but it was the sweetest kiss that either of them has ever experienced. The gravity between them alone made their kiss worthwhile. They ended up hugging in the middle of the dancefloor, not even moving to the beat of the music, just hugging. Stefan tightened his grip around Elena, not wanting to let her go, trying to cherish every moments with her. They loosened their grip on each other, only to start kissing again. This time, it was full of passion and desire. Passion that they've been holding back from that day in the stadium during the football match. Elena had her hand in his hair and around his neck while his arms were around her waist holding her close. They both kept on dancing with their hands intertwined. As more and more people came onto the dancefloor, the room was getting stuffier.

"I'm going to go outside," Elena told Stefan, "it's getting too hot in here."

"I'll be out soon," he answered and quickly pecked her lips. As Elena was walking away, he quickly squeezed her hand, she squeezed back slightly only to have him squeeze harder. She turned around and saw him wink at her. Elena didn't try hiding her smile as she walked outside.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

The time came for Elena to go home. She started saying goodbye to everyone and they were all acting normal, as if she was leaving in 10 days and not tomorrow. She smiled, because that was exactly what she wanted. Elena hated saying goodbye, so when people said 'See you around', she simply nodded, it was much easier that way. Elena got to Caroline who already had tears in her eyes.

"Care, I'll see you in a year, okay? It'll be fine. You're heading to uni in a month and things we'll go so fast that we'll both be back in Mystic Falls before we know it," comforted Elena. Caroline nodded and hugged Elena tightly. Caroline knew that if she opened her mouth to talk, her tears will be in a constant flow and she wanted to avoid that. As soon as she let go of Elena, she turned around and headed to the girl's bathroom to avoid any more emotional encounters. Elena quickly scanned the club and spotted Stefan sitting on a stool. She inhaled quickly and paced towards him. She knew that saying goodbye to Stefan was not going to be an easy task.

"I'm leaving Stefan," Elena started. She regretted it the moment she finished her sentence because Stefan's face suddenly became one filled with pain. His eyes had filled with tears, his mouth was slightly open and his brow furrowed. He reached out for Elena's hand and intertwined their fingers.

"Please don't go," he simply said.

"Don't make this harder than it already is. Let go of my hand. Please?"

"No. No, because when I let go, you're going to walk out of this club. Then you're going to leave tomorrow and I'm not going to see you for another year. I can't let you go."

"You'll survive," said Elena sternly trying to keep a composed face. "You just finished high school. You're going to have the time of your life during your gap year and then head off to uni. What's so wrong with that? You'll be fine Stefan."

"I just wish you weren't leaving so soon, Lena."

"It's not as if I have a choice. If I could, I would have stayed longer, but I can't. I'm a year younger than you are, I still have school to go to," she said while rolling her eyes. "My hand, please?"

Stefan let go of her hand but grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him and embraced her. He gently kissed her neck before kissing her lips. Elena felt anger through that kiss, angry that she was leaving so soon, angry that he hadn't spent as much time with her as he had wished, but mostly angry that she hadn't told him about her actual leaving date. They hugged again after their kiss and he whispered to her, "I'll miss you."

Elena swallowed hard and tried not to let her tears fall. Stefan wasn't allowed to see her cry. "I'll miss you too," she was barely able to whisper. She quickly turned around and pulled the Caroline move: walk away before encountering another emotional situation. As Elena walked outside, she saw Damon who was waiting for her.

"You ready?" he asked, but as he saw her face, he placed an arm around her shoulder and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Let's just go, please," begged Elena while her first tear strolled down her cheeks. The first out of many tears.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I tried hurrying up with the update. This chapter is definitely different from the others but I hope you like it. Thanks again for the reviews and follows, it means a lot to see that some people are actually reading my story :P**

**After this chapter, you can say what you liked/didn't liked, what's missing or anything else, feel free ! :)**

**Enjoy this chapter and please review!**

Minutes turned into hours; hours turned into days and days eventually turned into weeks. Elena left Mystic Falls two weeks ago and it felt like months. She wanted to be with Jenna, Caroline and Meredith, but mostly, she wanted to be with Stefan. Damon and Jeremy had flown back to Europe with her, but she still fell alone. Damon had moved to Switzerland right after the holidays while she stayed in Bulgaria. Jeremy and Elena didn't go to the same school anymore- Jeremy was in the phase where he wanted to start fresh and be the new kid where no one knows his life or what happened to his parents just about a year ago. He wanted to be Jeremy Gilbert, end of story. That being said, Jeremy changed school leaving Elena alone in their original high school.

Elena was glad that school had started again; it helped her concentrate on other things than Stefan. However, Bruno Mars was the new singer in Bulgaria at the moment and every time Elena heard one of his songs, she thought of Damon and Stefan. All of her friends talked only about Bruno Mars and nothing else mattered. She missed Damon immensely, she never thought she was as attached to him until the day he left Bulgaria. He spent a week there, just enough time for him to pack and then move to Switzerland. However, Elijah was still by Elena's side and he never left. He was the one to pick her up at the airport and drove her and Jeremy home. He stayed for dinner before heading back to his own house down the block. Elena really had missed Elijah; she had missed his parted straight brown hair, his black eyes and that smile that he did every so often. He had a way of talking that would make anyone stop whatever they're doing just to listen to what he had to say even if it was just plain crap. Elijah was the honest guy that you could always count on; he'd be there. Elena and Elijah have known each other from childhood, and if anyone would hurt Elena, Elijah would make sure that the person would live through hell. To him, absolutely no one was allowed to hurt Elena, not even Jeremy or Aunt Jenna. At school, they would walk anywhere and everywhere together. The freshmen students always thought they were either siblings or they were dating. Even the teachers who've known them for a long time or other students that spent a few years with them had their doubts about what kind of relationship they had; everyone thought that it was more than friendship. Elena and Elijah have heard all there was to hear about them and they just laughed, they couldn't do anything else. They were walking together to their next class and Elijah suddenly said: "I still can't believe you kissed Stefan!"

"He kissed me first," replied Elena in a heartbeat. It was true, she thought, he was the one that pulled her to him and then leaned in to kiss her on the middle of the dancefloor. She told Elijah about Stefan the day after her arrival, she couldn't hide it from him. When she was unpacking the day after she arrived, Elijah was lying on her bed scrutinizing her until he suddenly said: "Something happened in Mystic Falls, you're often daydreaming and then all of a sudden you start smiling. Who is he?" That's how well Elijah had grown to know her, and she could do the exact same thing to him. They couldn't even try hiding things from each other, it was impossible- they knew each other that well. Ever since she told him, Elijah had brought up the subject.

"Point is: You still kissed him. Did you know that we used to be close friends?", Elijah asked. "Then we just kind of drifted apart, but he's a good guy. I like him. I approve Lena, well done."

"Elijah, it was just a kiss. Nothing more, you're making a big deal out of it."

"Do you have any idea how nice Stefan is? That guy is a perfect gentleman."

"Why don't you date him?," mocked Elena.

"I'm not gay Elena, but I'm saying this for you. You deserve a good guy, and he's one of them."

"How about you calm yourself? He's in Mystic Falls and I'm here in Bulgaria with you, anything can happen on either side of the world. Next summer is a different story," she smiled.

Elijah decided to leave it at that. He's known Stefan for a long time and even if they've drifted apart, Elijah knew that Stefan was one great guy. A guy perfect for Elena, he smiled at the thought: Stefan and Elena.

"Did Damon say anything about you two?" he couldn't help asking. He had planned on letting the subject drop, but he was so intrigued about the cuteness between Stefan and Elena that he couldn't let it go.

"He said a couple of stuff, but nothing as intense as you. He let it go pretty quickly; something that you can't seem to do."

"I'm sorry," Elijah answered with sincerity in his eyes. Elena smiled and lopped her arm through Elijah's. He let her loop her arm for a moment but suddenly he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and rubbed her head with his knuckles. She laughed out loud, wiggled out of his embrace and silently thought "no doubts people think we're together, we talk all the time, laugh and hit each other like kids and loop arms when walking in the corridors."

~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Aunt Jenna was arriving today and Elena was preparing the house for her. Jeremy was in his room, too busy with homework to help Elena, or at least that was his excuse. Elena was happy to have someone else in the house, someone who she could actually talk to, not someone would only be downstairs because they just opened the front door and they need to make their way to their room.

"Jeremy, I'm going to the airport to get Jenna", yelled Elena half expecting her brother to hear her since he always had his earphones plugged in.

As Elena was driving to the airport that was about half an hour away, she thought about her parents. She thought about the time where she would have gone to fetch them at the airport after they had done a wonderful trip in the world somewhere. Her parents loved traveling; they've gone to India, Australia, Russia, Canada, Brazil, Hawaii and even Congo. Every time they would come back they bought her a souvenir, now Elena had a whole collection. Her throat clenched up at the thought that her collection ended last year, nothing would ever be added to it again. Someone else could give her a souvenir from a certain country, but it would never have the same significance as when her parents gave her one. Elena started to breathe deeply as a way to calm herself down and to control the tears that were building up in her chocolate brown eyes.

"Deep breaths Elena, deep breaths. Happy thoughts…" for a second Elena's mind went blank when she tried to think of a happy moment in her life. Nearly all of her favorite moments in her life included her parents, and just thinking about those moments made her want to cry. She decided to think back to the summer she just spent in Mystic Falls. She absently smiled just thinking about everything, and then her smile disappeared at the thought of Stefan, she wished he were here right next to her. She sighed as she arrived at the airport and drove towards the arrival gate. She got out of her car and waited with all of the other people who came to pick up other passengers. Elena hated airports, or to be more precise, she hated picking up people from the airport. Don't get her wrong, she loved driving people around and doing favors, but just the airport was a problem. It was a place where family members reunite after a while and she couldn't help but think that she would never reunite like that with her parents again and there was nothing she could do to reverse what happened.

The doors to the gate opened and passengers started flowing out, literally. Luckily Aunt Jenna had only one luggage to claim, so she was one of the first ones to walk out the door. When Jenna walked out, it didn't take long for her to find Elena in the crowd; her beauty was just so striking that anyone could spot her from miles away. She never got used to Elena's beauty even though she should be familiar with it since they've lived together for a year now. As Jenna approached her niece, Elena's smile broadened and they hugged each other as if they hadn't seen each other in months. As Elena hugged Jenna, she tried to stay compose and to keep the thought of her parents away. They let go of each other and Elena took Jenna's luggage as they both walked to the car.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Jenna didn't wait until the next morning to unpack her suitcase; she wanted everything done tonight. Elena was sitting on her aunt's bed and watch as Jenna was running back and forth; from her bag to her closet. They talked about nothing in particular, just catching up on how their three weeks have been, other than that, no big news.

Jenna gasped all of a sudden "I've got gossip," she said and gave a sideways glance at Elena. Elena giggled; she loved the fact that her aunt was still a teenager at heart, ready to hear all the gossips there was to hear. She never repeated them, except some to Elena, other than that, she would stay quiet and listen. Elena always loved that about Jenna, you could tell her anything and she would keep it secret if you asked her to.

"What's the gossip, fill me in on everything," replied Elena with a slight tone of excitement. Elena wasn't much of a gossip girl, but she liked to hear them nonetheless.

"Guess who Caroline hooked up with? Hint: someone from her closest group of friends."

"Tyler?"

"Nope."

"Matt?"

"Guess again," Jenna answered excitedly.

Elena closed her eyes as she answered, "Stefan" and breathed out loudly. It wasn't a question but a statement.

"YES!" shrieked Jenna. "Isn't it adorable, two best friends hooking up?"

Elena smiled, but even she could feel that it was as fake as plastic. "Yeah, completely adorable. They had it coming. I'm happy for them," she answered faking enthusiasm. She never thought that she would be able to literally feel her heart sink or clench up; either way, her heart did something. She discreetly took deep breaths trying to not tear up. She knew that she shouldn't feel that way, she knew Stefan for such a short time, but apparently not short enough to not develop feelings for him. She hated herself for falling too fast and too hard for him. She had warned herself about it during New Year's when they were saying goodbye.

"I'm gonna go check on dinner," Elena quickly and briskly walked out the door with her head so bent down that she almost bashed into Jeremy.

"Woah Lena. Watch out," he said as he flopped down onto Jenna's bed and started to talk to her.

Elena barely apologized, flew downstairs and heated the dinner- Italian pasta. All she wanted to do right now was let the tears flow and let her face and eyes become red. She felt the first tear hit her cheek and quickly wiped it out with the back of her hand. As she was stirring the pasta, she allowed her mind to drift to everything that had happened between Stefan and her throughout the holidays. To her, he had meant something, the gravity and connection was something that she couldn't ignore. However, maybe to him it was just another notch in his belt of girls. Elena felt so foolish for even falling for Stefan that she wanted to hit herself. She was full out crying by now and she hadn't realized until she heard footsteps on the stairs and felt that her face was wet. She dashed to the bathroom located downstairs and locked herself in. She turned to the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked hideous with her tear-stained face. Elena splashed her face with water trying to clean the light mascara that leaked onto her cheek. She patted her face dry with the hand towel and walked out with what she thought was a more or less normal looking face.

All three were seated at the table and Elena was glad to see that Jeremy was making an effort at being more with the family.

"You seem upset Lena, everything okay?" asked Jenna with a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah, everything is perfect," simple answered Elena and smiled tightly.

"You okay with this whole Caroline and Stefan situation? I mean you dashed out the room right after I told you the gossip and now you seem upset."

"No, seriously aunt Jenna I'm more than fine. I dashed out your room because I forgot that I turned the oven on when we got back and I had to check that the dinner wasn't burning," she half-heartedly laughed. "About Caroline and Stefan? I am absolutely thrilled for them. They've been in the same group of friends for at least four years now, and every year I assume that they've become closer. I am more than happy for them, really."

"I just hope it works out between the two of them. They're absolutely adorable," added Jenna with a smile on her face.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena went to school the next day feeling like crap. Last night she didn't bother stopping her tears from flowing once she got into her bed. She's surprised that Jenna hasn't heard her sobs, she's usually a light sleeper and hears everything that's happening in the house.

"What's wrong, Lena. Stop hiding from me, please," gently asked Elijah for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"I really don't want to talk about it, Elijah. I'll talk to you some other time, I promise," she answered. She loved that Elijah was there for her and would never give up on her.

"Okay. How about we move to sweeter and lighter subjects like Stefan? How is that boy doing?" he asked with a smile on her face.

"He's fine," she shortly answered. Elijah noticed the bitter tone but decided to ignore it.

"What' going to happen between the two of you anyways? I mean, you guys had an epic last night," he said with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"Yeah, and there's a reason it's called a last night."

"Danm it, what happened?"

"He hooked up with Caroline," she answered curtly.

"What. A. Dick!" he exclaimed. "How could he do that? He swapped you for Caroline? What is WRONG with him?"

"He's a freaking Greek God and he probably knows it. He probably also knows that he can get any girl he wants."

"And she's a freaking Greek Goddess. Have you seen that girl?"

"You're really not helping there."

"Sorry. Okay, to be honest, what he did was a total dick move! You deserve so much better than that Lena. So. Much. Better!" he was almost enraged. He waited a while, as if thinking before he went on, "Wait, is that why you were so down this morning?"

"Look at you putting the pieces together," she said and tried to smile. Elijah hugged her for a long time before kissing her forehead.

"He's a dick Lena, let it go."

"What happened to 'He's one of the good ones'?" questioned Elena.

"Well sometimes good guys turn out to be dicks, like Stefan. You need cheering up."

Elijah spent his entire day cheering Elena up in every possible way. He told her jokes, tickled her and gave her piggyback rides in the school corridors. They acted like children, but they didn't care, they could be themselves with each other. They were sitting at the cafeteria with their groups of friends when someone said something that made Elena laughed out loud without even forcing it.

"Isn't she beautiful when she's happy," Elijah asked while staring at Elena laughing. He hated the fact that someone like Stefan could hurt her, and he probably didn't even realize it. Elena stopped laughing and looked at Elijah mouthing a 'Thank You' and smiled widely. She wished that everyone could have a friend like Elijah, always there to make sure you had a good time and to cheer you up when you're as down as you can be. He was the type of guy who would only look down at you because he was helping you up.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry for the late update, I'm experiencing some serious writer's block and it's not the best feeling in the world :P I don't particularly like this chapter but it's going to help move things forward (hopefully) and I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for a new chapter. It's a short chapter, but there are some important information being given out :)**

**To Girlz-Rule and TVDlover99 : thank you SO MUCH for the constant reviews after each chapter. It means a lot that you're actually interested in knowing what will happen next. **

**TVDlover99: I'm sorry about the whole Caroline/Stefan hookup, but it's part of the plan ;) I'll try make Elijah more likeable. Thanks for the review :)**

**Girlz-Rule: Your questions are going to be answered in this chapter :) I'm glad you liked Elijah, I like him too :P**

**Everyone please review and any ideas of what could happen next in this story would be great or is there no hope for it (that would suck)? I'm aiming for at least 15 reviews before uploading the next chapter.**

**Have a good reading time. :)  
Love y'all**

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Elena returned from school that day feeling slightly better than when she left, thanks to Elijah. She went up to her room and opened her computer to log onto Facebook. Aunt Jenna was at work and Jeremy wouldn't be back until later, so that left her alone, with Facebook. She logged on and quickly scrolled down the home page until a pop-up chatbox from Caroline appeared. "I've got news for you" it said. Elena already knew the news and she didn't want to be told a second time, but Jenna wasn't meant to tell her anything, so Elena went by the innocent rule.

"Tell me everything", Elena wrote back.

"I hooked up with Stefan :) :) :) ," Caroline answered. Elena wanted to grimace at the overuse of smiley faces. At hat moment right there, Elena wished she had never met Caroline so she could hate on her without feeling guilty.

"No way! Are you happy?"

"Yeah.. Yeah, I am :) I mean, we've been close for about four years now and suddenly I came to realize that he's grown into this sweet, caring and sensitive man." Elena read her explanations with a face that showed less expression than a brick. Everything that Caroline was describing about Stefan, Elena had spotted that from her first encounter with him at the football match. Elena wanted to ask Caroline how she could have done that to her. She then realized that when she kissed Stefan, they were surrounded by strangers on the dancefloor; so people saw, but no one knew them. There was a high probability that Caroline has absolutely no idea what happened between Elena and Stefan. She softened towards the whole situation but then she thought of Stefan, what the hell was he doing? Telling her not to leave, begging her to stay, kissing her so passionately, only to repeat it with Elena's best friend.

"Yeah, Stefan is a great guy. I'm really happy for you! :)," Elena typed. She was glad that this conversation wasn't happening face to face or she might have just have broke down the minute Caroline would have opened her mouth to tell her the gossip. "But what's going to happen now? I mean, you're leaving for university in Australia in a few days and he's staying in Mystic Falls?" Elena couldn't help ask her friend. Her heart was throbbing and she needed answers.

"Well… It's just a summer fling. I mean, we've been 'together' for the past two weeks and it's simply just great. He's so sweet to me, and there are a few pecks here and there and all I want to do is cuddle with him and never let him go."

"Care, I've got to go. Sorry! Jenna is stressing downstairs about whatever. See you. Love you," typed Elena so fast that she couldn't even see her fingers move on the keyboard. She closed her laptop as well as her eyes and breathed in and out heavily. She lied to Caroline about Jenna, she was still well at work, but Elena needed any excuse to stop talking to her best friend, she couldn't keep on reading how Stefan treats her. Everything that Caroline wrote, Elena kept on thinking: It should have been me.

Although Elena kept telling herself that she barely knows Stefan and that him and Caroline are perfect together, she wanted to cry at the sound of his name. Elena understood Caroline's point of view: two best friends getting to know each other so well that they eventually start dating because it got to that point and they become the blissful couple that no one would freaking shut up about. Elena knew that Caroline didn't exactly see it that way, but it was close enough. What Elena didn't understand was Stefan. All the moments that she had spent with him had seemed so special; apparently he didn't feel the same way about it. Elena had unconsciously re-opened her laptop again and was back on Facebook. She was staring at her homepage without actually reading it. She was about to close it once more when a pop-up chat came up. She prayed that it wasn't Caroline; she had heard enough stuff about her. Elena still loved Caroline with her whole heart, but just right now, she needed some Carolineless time. She looked at the name of the chatbox: Stefan Salvatore. Elena couldn't help smile, she knew she should be upset and angry but she couldn't.

Stefan: Hey. I have a lot of apologizing to do.

Elena's anger came rushing back just by reading the first line. She knew that she was being irrational by getting angry, but Stefan had to know.

Elena: Nothing to apologize for.

Stefan: I'm sorry about everything that happened.

Elena: Sorry about what? Elena was actually getting slightly confused, was Stefan apologizing for kissing her or for what is happening between him and Caroline.

Stefan: About what's happening between Caroline and I.

Elena: Why are you apologizing?

Stefan: It's not fair. To you. And I know that you know what's happening between the two of us, she told me that she told you. Wow, that is one complicated sentence. I don't know what exactly happened, I mean she's my best friend and I felt like we owed it to each other.

Elena smiled at the slight joke, but didn't bring it up in their conversation; it was just a minor detail that didn't need to be discussed.

Elena: Yeah, well it didn't stop you from doing anything, fair or not. But whatever, I'm happy for you guys. And by the way, it's not as if there ever was anything between us Stefan.

She was keeping her responses cold and to the point, she was still mad at him and she would need time to heal. The only reason Elena kept telling people that she was happy for Caroline and Stefan was because she was hoping that it would help her accept the situation. She was trying to convince herself that everything will work out for the best.

Stefan: Stop lying to yourself, Elena.

Elena: Excuse me?

Stefan: Don't deny it. Even I can't deny it. The gravity between us is intense. I feel like whenever you're around, a magnet is pulling me towards you. It's something that I've never felt with anyone before. And it feels good… different.

Elena: Why are you telling me this now?

Stefan: Because you deserve to know that what happened between us, it meant something to me. I know that given the situation I'm in right now it doesn't seem like it, but it did. Whatever it is that happened between us, I don't want to lose it.

Elena: You can't juggle girls like that Stefan, so consider whatever we had- lost.

Stefan: I freaked out Elena! You're this amazing girl that I see again after so long and you've changed. You've become the definition of perfect. I could never be good enough for you!

Elena: You don't get to make that decision for me Stefan. And where does Caroline fit into this?

Stefan: I don't know what I feel about Caroline. She's my best friend, and now she's a little more, but not my girlfriend. I don't know Elena, I really don't.

"Stefan Salvatore. What. A. Dick," came Elijah's voice from behind Elena. She jumped and twirled around at the sound of his voice. "Stefan, that's when you're meant to answer 'I love you Elena, Caroline is just a summer fling, but I love you'. You don't answer some shitty thing like 'I don't know what I feel.' Who does that? Seriously?"

"Elijah!" half screamed Elena. "How long have you been stalking me?"

"Long enough," he answered until he caught Elena squinting at him, challenging him to keep on talking. "Alright, alright. I came when he was describing you as the perfect girl, which isn't wrong by the way, until the end where he basically blew his entire chance at winning you back." Elena stayed silent and sat beside him on the edge of her window seat. "Please tell me he's a dick," encouraged Elijah.

"He apologized, Elijah. He's still half way to being a good guy," answered Elena without even knowing why she was defending Stefan; moments ago she was deeply mad at him.

"He's having a fling with Caroline right after you guys had an epic night. From what I can recall, it meant something to him too- I'm pretty sure I saw that in your chatbox."

"Yeah well whatever it was, it's over. He's there, I'm here and the world will keep on spinning."

"How do you do that, Elena?"

"Do what?" she innocently asked. For the first time, she couldn't read Elijah's face and she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"Pretend that everything is okay. You're crushed by this whole Caroline/Stefan situation; it's all over your face. Yet, when someone brings up the subject, you smile and look like a kid on Christmas day and pretend like everything is right in the world."

"I can't have people asking me all the time what's wrong with me. I'd rather put on a good face and not have people worry rather than telling a story that's just going to hurt me even more."

"You know you don't need to pretend with me Elena."

Elena smiled, "I know. But sometimes I'd just like you to have a day without any of my drama bothering you, a day where you get to take care of yourself, a day where you don't need to make sure that your best friend is alright and happy."

"You're like my little sister, I like to take care of you. It makes me happy. And when you're truly happy, do you have _any_ idea how beautiful you are? When you're happy, you've got this constant smile on your face and your eyes laugh as well. People who know you well enough can see the amount of mischief in your eyes. When you're sad however, you're not focused, as if you're constantly thinking about something, your face is glum and you have not even half of a smile, it's more like a quarter of a smile. You can't hide forever Elena, no matter how hard you try. I've got to admit, you're brilliant at hiding, but not from me you're not."

Elena looked over to Elijah with tears in her eyes, she was thankful once again that Elijah was there, he always is. She hugged him tightly before realizing that her Facebook was still connected. Stefan was now offline, but he had left multiple messages before leaving.

Stefan: You still there?

Stefan: I get it if you're mad at me, but please don't ignore me.

Stefan: Look, I've got to go. Let me know when the silent treatment is over.

Stefan: I miss you

Elena read and re-read and re-re-read that last line. She was about to type 'I miss you too' when Elijah suddenly said, "Don't even think about typing 'I miss you too.' No, don't be the easy girl that will welcome him with open arms anytime, anyday, because that's not you. If he wants another chance with you, he's going to need to fight for that chance, he's going to need to earn it, and you're not going to just give it to him. Alright?"

"Yes sir," she answered while saluting Elijah like a soldier. It had surprised her that Elijah actually knew what she was going to write. Then again, it was Elijah, he knew her like the back of his hand.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Damon has been in Switzerland for three weeks now. He's been keeping in touch with a few friends but not as much as he had hoped. Moving in has taken a lot of his time and with his work piling up, it's becoming harder for him to fit it a time to talk or write emails. He hasn't heard from Elena in two weeks and he missed her. She had called the first week when he moved in, but then nothing. He hasn't tried calling either. Damon has tried multiple times to find a friend like Elena in Switzerland, but no one would even be a close second. Conclusion: Elena was unbeatable. He couldn't quite be himself now; his dry sense of humor and sarcastic remarks weren't really appreciated here.

The only person who Damon has actually been keeping in touch with quite regularly is Stefan. Stefan told him what was happening between him and Caroline and Damon didn't even try to hide his disappointment. He loved Caroline, she's a great girl, but he couldn't help but think of the hurt that he was causing Elena. Damon never talked to Elena about it, but he knew her well enough to know that it must be painful. He remembered her face when she had said goodbye to him, tear-stained and make up leaking down her cheeks. Damon was so off in his world that he hadn't noticed that the Skype icon on his MacBook was jumping up and down, indicating a message. He opened it and smiled when he saw Stefan's name. 'Speak of the devil', he thought.

Stefan: I talked to Elena for the first time today since she left. She said she's happy for Caroline and I, but for some reason, I can't believe her.

Damon: Hello to you too brother! Of course she's going to say she's happy for the two of you, she's a million miles away, what can she do?

Stefan: She could tell me the truth, tell me what she actually thinks. Right now, she's giving me the silent treatment. This means that she's mad, in other words: not happy of Caroline and I.

Damon: She could tell you the truth, but it's not going to change what happened or what's happening. You've got to give Elena some time, Stefan. But she'll come around, eventually.

Stefan: I love her, Damon. I'm in love with Elena and I have no idea how to fix the mess I made. I love her, Damon.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thanks y'all for the amazing reviews ! They make me absolutely happy :) I hope that I haven't lost your interest in the story..**

**To TVDlover99: I've dedicated a part of this chapter to you, I'm sure you'll spot it right out :P**

**To Guest: No, Elena and Elijah aren't going to be a thing, they're just best friends and he's always looking out for her.**

**To everyone else: Thanks again for the great reviews. Your support is what keeps me writing, although it may not be the best story ever invented ;) **

**Everyone, let me know what you think of the chapter or story overall, you know that reviews make my day :)**

**Love y'all**

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Damon stared at the Skype Message screen on his computer. He re-read the last sentence Stefan had sent him to make sure that he has understood the exact meaning. 'I love her, Damon. I'm in love with Elena and I have no idea how to fix the mess I made. I love her, Damon.' Stefan loves Elena. Stefan loves Elena. Stefan LovesElena. StefanlovesElena. He kept on repeating it to himself to the point where the words were foreign to him and were mushed up together to form one. Damon smiled in front of him computer. His best friend was in love with his other best friend, could things get any better?

Damon: What about Caroline, Stef?

Stefan: I don't know D. I mean Caroline is this amazing girl who I've known my entire life and now that we're more than just best friends, it doesn't feel bad or awkward. But whenever I'm with Caroline, I keep on wishing that she were Elena. Then when that phase is gone, I'm happy about what I'm living with Caroline.

Damon: Enough Stefan! Pick your girl. If it's Caroline, then let go of Elena completely. I will NOT let you play her like that; she's my best friend. But if you pick Elena, then you've got to let Caroline know, she doesn't deserve to be played with it either.

Stefan: I know D, and you know me, I'm not that type of guy. Whatever it is that I'm living with Caroline right now, I'll just enjoy it. What happens when Elena comes back next summer is a different story. A lot can happen in a year.

Damon: All right, you know what to do best. But for your own good, don't throw that 'I Love You' sentence at anyone anytime.

Stefan: What do you mean? I've never thrown it at anyone without meaning it.

Damon: You just told me you love Elena, Stefan! But with your actions, it sure as hell doesn't look like it. Damon knew that his words could be read in an aggressive way, that was his point anyway. He was mad at Stefan for telling him moments ago that he loves Elena yet still doing whatever he's doing with Caroline. It's not right, and it definitely doesn't seem like it's something that Stefan would do.

Stefan: It's because I do, Damon! I love Elena, but she's a thousand miles away, what can I do? Wait for her, pine for her? I don't even know whether she feels the same way towards me. Like I told you, next summer is a different story, whatever happens, happens.

Damon: Fair enough. But just remember one thing: Break her heart, and I'll break your face.

Stefan: Got it.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~

It's been a couple of week since Elena and Stefan last talked to each other because of the silent treatment. She had broken the silent treatment only yesterday. She figured that she'd rather have Stefan still part of her life as a friend instead of completely ignoring him and become strangers again. That's the thing when people walk into your life, you suddenly don't understand how you managed to live without them. Some people manage to walk in your life and walk out without leaving a trace of ever meeting them. Other people, they randomly come into your life and leave marks in your heart, marks that will stay with you forever because those people have changed you. After you meet those people, you're never quite the same person you were before you met them. That is exactly what happened to Elena and Stefan when they first saw each other again at the New Years Party. They didn't understand how they could have lived for so long without knowing what the other person had to offer. Elena accepted the fact that she and Stefan might never be an item, they could only stay friends, but it was far better than becoming strangers all over again. Whenever they talked, whether it was on Skype or Facebook, it lasted hours. They alwys had things to say and never got bored of each other. Caroline left Mystic Falls over a month ago and like she had said, things were now over between her and Stefan. Elena felt less guilt talking to Stefan knowing that he wasn't dating her best friend anymore. Before, whenever she talked to Stefan, she unconsciously felt guilty towards Caroline, she felt as though she wasn't allowed to talk as much to Stefan. However, Elena was glad that she had broken the silent treatment and started to talk to Stefan again, Elijah however, thought differently.

"How do you even manage to keep on talking to Stefan, after everything that he's done to you? He's. Such. An. Asshole. Elena," Elijah said exasperatedly.

"Stop saying that," Elena snapped back. "Stop saying that Stefan is a dick or an asshole! Just freaking stop it! I get the fact that what he did wasn't the most gentleman like manners, but it doesn't give you the power to keep on disgracing him. It doesn't mean that Stefan isn't the good guy you thought he was when I first told you that we kissed. You know what, Elijah? I still believe that Stefan is a good guy, no matter what he did, he's still a good guy."

"He hurt you Elena. No one is allowed to hurt you; you don't deserve it."

"Yes, Elijah, people are allowed to hurt me and they will! I don't get to choose when and if I'll get hurt, but I get to have a say in who can hurt me. You're so sure that what Stefan did is hurting me. Yes, it's not the best feeling in the world, but I'm not in agony, life freaking goes on. I get that you'll always look out for me and I appreciate it, I really do. But you need to understand that I'm a big girl now, I can take care of myself."

"You were about to write 'I miss you too' in that chatbox a few weeks ago."

"So what? What are you trying to say, Elijah? I can't tell Stefan anything because he 'hurt' me? Let me write and do what I want. If it's a mistake, then I'll learn from it. You've got to stop telling me what to do all the time. Let me screw things up or do something extremely stupid that I may regret for the rest of my life. Let's get one thing straight: I'd rather lead a life of 'Oh Wells' rather than 'What ifs'. Those are the two words that can and will haunt you for a lifetime and you have absolutely no control over that. I don't want to live in doubts, Elijah," Elena concluded and walked away. She hated fighting with Elijah, he was her best friend and it didn't feel right to argue with him. For some reason though, she didn't feel guilty about this fight. She felt as if Elijah deserved it; he had to know that what he was doing was bothering her. He couldn't keep on controlling her life and her decisions all the time. If she wanted to say 'I miss you' to Stefan, she should be able to do so without any judgments being done. Elena knew that the argument they just faced had an effect on Elijah. He usually came back 10 minutes or so after their argument to apologize with his puppy face and everything would be back to how they were, but today wasn't the case. An hour passed. Two hours passed and eventually the clock was indicating that a third one was about to pass; yet Elijah kept on ignoring Elena. She wasn't bothered and she knew that if someone had to apologize, it's Elijah. Elena felt like a child for thinking in such a way, but it was true. Yes, she was the one to snap at him first, but he was the first one to make a rude comment about Stefan. She didn't exactly understand why she defended Stefan, but she felt as though he deserved to have someone stick up for him. It really didn't make any sense to her, what she was feeling towards him, therefore she decided not to talk about it to Elijah. Everything she felt towards Stefan, she just decided to blame it on the gravity, the magnetic pull or the force that was constantly pushing them together all the time. She hated that pull from time to time. Whenever Elena was having an epic time, she always wished that he was there so he could enjoy it with her. But then, she remembered everything that has happened with Caroline and her mood goes completely down. It takes her about 15 minutes for her moment to pass and then she's as good as before. Eventually she talked about the event to Stefan the day of or the day afterwards. His response would usually be: "I wish I was there to live those moments with you." She always wanted to tell him that she wished he were there too, but never managed to. She didn't want to open her heart up too much to him again only to get it destroyed once more. He hurt her once and he probably didn't even know it, she thought. To him, she was probably just another girl in his parade of girls.

When Stefan and Elena talked, they never talked about them and what happened during her last night in Mystic Falls. To her, it was painful because of what happened afterwards, to him, Elena was someone so special that he didn't want to ruin what had happened by talking about it. He had questions he'd always wanted to ask her about that night, but he was too afraid to hear the answers and therefore never asked. They managed to find a thousand of other topics to talk about, but it never got too personal and never did it get awkward.

Elijah eventually came to apologize to Elena just before the end of the day. He felt bad for what he was doing to her and what he kept on saying about Stefan. He knew that Stefan was still a good person deep inside but what had upset Elijah was that he had hurt Elena in the process without realizing it.

"Elena, I need to talk to you," said Elijah running up to catch up with her in the corridors and grabbed her wrist.

"Why, are you not done insulting Stefan?" asked Elena while snatching her wrist away. She really wasn't in the mood to hear him complain about Stefan anymore.

"Actually, I wanted to apologize about that. I know that what I said is wrong and I shouldn't have said or done anything. Stefan is still one of the good people. I didn't mean to have upset you like that."

"Elijah, I've told you more than once to stop commenting on what happened with Stefan and I or what he did with Caroline. I mean him and Caroline only dated for the few weeks that she had left in Mystic Falls. But you kept on ignoring me, telling me what to do and what not to do. I could've made my own decisions, I'm capable of that."

"I know, I know. And I'm sorry, Elena, for not letting you make your own decisions. It's just that when I saw your face the morning after you learnt the news, it crushed me. Your look was so sad and I didn't want anyone to make you feel that way again. So I tried to make you see the bad side of Stefan, calling him a dick and an asshole. But you're smart, Elena, you managed to see right through it and kept in your mind that Stefan is a good guy, because by the end of the day, he is. Stefan is a great guy, I still stand by that statement; the statement I made when you first told me that he kissed you."

"I knew I'd be able to make you see clearly again," Elena answered with a smile on her face. She stepped forward and hugged Elijah. Students were rushing past them in the corridors not even trying to walk around the two hugging best friends, just walking into them. Elena and Elijah let go of each other and followed the troop of students towards the cafeteria with their arms looped around each other. Everything was right again in the world: Stefan and Elena were back on talking terms while Elena and Elijah were back to being sisters and brothers from different families.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena soon found herself revising for her finals. She had not realized how quickly time has passed. She remembered Stefan telling her that when January will come around, time will not only fly by, it would blast by. She only half believed him since the first half of her year was already going by extremely fast. Stefan, however, wasn't wrong, January came and went and the months were just FebruaMarcApriMay. Elena felt as if she couldn't even finish saying the name of the month before it was already the next one; that's how fast time was going. More or less everyday Stefan would email her just to say goodluck for whatever exam she had that day.

Elena and Caroline talked a few times, but never about Stefan because a) it still pained Elena to talk about them as a couple and b) she still wasn't sure whether Caroline knew what happened between her and Stefan during her last night in Mystic Falls. If Caroline got to know, things might just get awkward between the two of them. Yes, they were best friends and they are able to tell each other everything that there is to tell, but when a situation like this comes up, things are far more delicate. Caroline has been back in Mystic Falls for three weeks now. Jeremy left two days ago, leaving her alone with Aunt Jenna. They didn't talk much these days; Aunt Jenna was busy writing her thesis while Elena was in her room revising for her finals. Elena was leaving to Mystic Falls in a week time and she was more than excited. Elijah was also going to Mystic Falls for the summer but he was flying a week later. Aunt Jenna had other plans for her summer, she wanted to travel and discover a new country. Damon on the other hand has been back in Mystic Falls for at least a month and he only had one idea in mind: the Elena would just hurry and join him. He missed her immensely and he just wanted to sit down with her and talk for hours.

Elena wrote her finals and she walked out satisfied, the results were coming out in two weeks. She was packing little by little everyday and before she knew it, she was in the car with Aunt Jenna driving her to the airport. Only one thought kept coming to mind and made her keep her smile throughout the whole ride. It wasn't because of Mystic Falls or Mystic Grills or seeing Jeremy and Caroline; it was because of Stefan. Just the thought of "I'll see him tomorrow or the day after" made her heart skip a beat. Overjoyed wasn't even close to what she was feeling.

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**AN: Soooo, Stefan and Elena are going to see each other again next chapter :) Exciting ! But, with Caroline back in Mystic Falls, things might not be so smooth.. I decided to change the triangle from Damon, Stefan and Elena to Stefan, Elena and Caroline.. Makes things interesting since we haven't seen that on the show.. **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry for late update, but here it is, and it's a rather long one :) Let me know what you guys think by the end of it! I'm aiming for about 30 reviews. I know it's a lot but I just want to know what you all think of the story, positive or negative thoughts- they're all welcome. And, the reviews are what keeps me writing ! :) It's also my first story ever written, so if you have any tips on how I can improve it, let me know..**

**TVDlover99: I know I can count on you for your constant reviews. I can't thank you enough, you have no idea how much it means to me :) **

**Girlz-Rule: Thanks for your constant reviews as well, they make me smile.**

**Thanks for reading and please review :)**

**Love y'all**

**Okay. Go. Read. NOW. :P**

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While Jeremy was in Mystic Falls a few days before Elena, he kept on inviting her friends to their house. When Jeremy told Elena, it was weird to her at first. Just the thought of Tyler, Matt, Caroline, Damon, Meredith, Rebekah or even Stefan coming over didn't sound right. They were her friends, not his. He usually had different friends in Mystic Falls, he never hung out with Elena. Or if he did, it was because he had nowhere else better to be. However, the more she thought about it, the more she was okay with the fact that Jeremy and her were now possibly sharing the same group of friends. Since Jeremy and Elena didn't go to the same school anymore, she hadn't paid as close attention to him as she used to. To her, Jeremy was still the boy who wanted to fit in without people knowing his past. Now, she suddenly noticed how mature he has become over the past year, you could now actually have a decent conversation with him without him messing around or acting stupid all of a sudden. To Elena, it feels as though he had made the switch from being a small immature boy to being a man overnight. She felt guilty for not realizing those changes in him earlier. She was too engulfed in her own world that she hadn't noticed things that were taking place directly in front of her.

As her plane landed, she couldn't help a smile coming to her face. She knew that the best summer was awaiting her. She was done with high school and she had already received her results. The official results were coming out in a few days, but since she was able to pull a few strings with the principal, she got her grades earlier. She did better than expected and started the summer with no regrets. She was scared of being disappointed of her results and feeling like she didn't deserve a summer. Not a lot of people were like that, caring too much about grades, and she hated that about herself. When she flunked a class, she felt as though she wasn't only disappointing herself, but she was also letting down her teachers, Jenna and Jeremy to a certain extent. They're always there pushing her to do her best, and when she doesn't they're all sad for her because they all know the potential that Elena has. But now that she had finished school with more than decent grades, there was nothing stopping her from enjoying her holidays.

As soon as the seat belt sign went off, Elena was the first passenger up and already opening the overhead compartment for her carry-on bag. She walked out the airplane and quickly made her way to the luggage claim. In no time at all, Elena was ready to leave. She quickly went to the bathroom to freshen up. Elena splashed water on her face and quickly brushed her teeth. The flight from Bulgaria to Mystic Falls was 10 hours long and her mouth was dry and tasted weird. She felt as though her breath was toxic enough to make people choke. She felt clean and walked out of the bathroom with her luggage. Alaric was coming to pick her up. She had hoped that her friends would have picked her up instead, but they all said that they already had plans of their own that night. She understood perfectly well, their life kept going on, everything wasn't going to stop because Elena was coming back home. Elena likes Ric a lot; he is the closest person she has as a dad. He took care of Elena and Jeremy like his own kids but decided to live in his own apartment so he wouldn't invade too much. Both, Jeremy and Elena appreciated that a lot. They loved the fact that they had a somewhat father figure, but he was also a man that would stand back and let them be free. Elena knew that Alaric was a fan of waiting for people at the airport so as soon as she spotted the EXIT sign on the other side of the hall, she walked at a fast pace towards it. As she stepped out, she saw a big E-L-E-N-A sign held by five people, each person holding a different letter. Elena's heart clenched up with emotions. She knew that she had friends back in Mystic Falls that she could count on, but she never thought they were ever going to surprise her like that. Her smile invaded her face and her cheeks were squinting her eyes. She literally couldn't stop smiling. She tried to contain herself, but with each step closer to her group of friends welcoming her, her throat tightened. She wanted to cry of joy; she had never felt like that before. She knew that it was just a simple gesture from her friends, but it meant so much to Elena. For the first time, she felt as though she really had found friends that whatever happens, they would always be there. Elena got closer and recognized Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie, Jeremy and Rebekah. When she was close enough, Caroline jumped the railing separating the passengers from the people waiting and hugged Elena tightly.

"Do you have _any_ idea how much I've _missed_ you?" Caroline asked while still hugging Elena.

"I've missed you too, Care. So freaking much," honestly replied Elena. She really had missed Caroline. She really didn't care what had happened with Stefan last summer, Caroline was still her loving self and that was all that mattered.

"Come on, let's go," she said as she took one of Elena's luggage. The rest of the group was waiting for the two girls to walk up to the parking lot. Rebekah was the first out of the four remaining to jump into Elena's arms.

"I've missed you hun," she said in a rich British accent. Elena has always loved that about Rebekah, wherever she went, her accent would always stay the same. Her parents were British, but they moved to Mystic Falls when she was five. She would occasionally go visit England, but she preferred it better in Virginia. Bonnie was next in line to hug Elena just as tightly as Caroline had and finally the two boys hugged the newcomer. Jeremy silently whispered to her "It's good to have you back sis, I've missed you."

"It's only been a few days Jer," she answered slightly amused by her brother's words.

"Doesn't mean that I can't miss my sister in those few days," he answered and smiled at her. She hugged him again and tried to hide the tears that had formed in her eyes. She was thankful that it was dusk and that people couldn't see clearly. She thought again at how much Jeremy had changed in just a year and it made her hug him slightly more tightly. All six of them walked towards Matt's truck that Tyler had borrowed with their arms around each other's back. Strangers who were walking around them couldn't stop staring. To the teenagers it was weird, but to the others watching the group walking with their arms around each other, it meant only one thing: whatever happens, they would always have each other's back and that was what they were all literally showing without even realizing it. As they approached the truck, Elena couldn't help but ask , "Are we all going to fit in there?"

"Well, we'll be slightly squished, but that's part of the fun," Tyler answered, and then added, "Caroline's words." He then gave her a side ways glance.

"What? I am _so_ right! Instead of being in two different cars, we're all together in one and we all get to be together. Squished or not, it's way better being together than separated," Caroline defended herself. Everyone chuckled and Elena took Caroline's hand and slightly squeezed as a way to tell her that she approved. The blonde looked over to her friend and was thankful that someone was at least on her side.

"Even Elena agrees," Caroline couldn't stop herself from blurting out.

"Caroline's got a point," was all that Elena could answer. The rest of the group laughed because anyways there was nothing that could be done about the situation since they all came in only a car.

The drive was about forty-five minutes long and none of them could stop talking. They were all filling Elena in on what was going on in Mystic Falls while she filled them in about what had happened in Bulgaria. Caroline talked about her first year in Australia and how different it was from Mystic Falls.

"Wait, wait, wait," Elena interrupted and got everybody's' attention "Jeremy said that you were all going out somewhere, how come you all came to pick me up?" she asked as she suddenly recalled Jeremy telling her the day before she left that Alaric was the one to pick her up because they all had a barbeque or something at a friend's place. He also said that if she wanted and felt like it, she could join.

"How naïve can you get? We had plans, yes, and do you know what it was? It was preparing the letters of your name. And the barbeque is still on," said Bonnie and then added with a wide smile, "at your house. But, we couldn't tell you all of that because we wanted to surprise you so we all told Jeremy to tell you that we were busy tonight." Once again, Elena, who was sitting in the front seat, couldn't help smiling and thought: Summer has officially started. If any of them weren't talking, which was rare, they would listen to the music blasting from the radio. Without even realizing it, they had already arrived at the Gilbert house and Tyler switched the car off. The porch and the living room were the only lights that were on. Jeremy opened the front door and Elena stepped in right behind him. She couldn't help but gasp. By the stairs there was a big banner that read: WELCOME HOME ELENA. Matt, Meredith, Ric and Katherine were all waiting inside and smiled at Elena when they saw the joy on her face. Her brown eyes were wider than usual and her mouth was left hanging. All four of them walked to Elena and welcomed her. Katherine grabbed Elena by her shoulders and said "Good to have you back," and smiled widely. Katherine and Elena had a special relationship. Elena didn't know what exactly happened, they used to be good friends when they were younger and would hang out all the time when Elena was back in Mystic Falls. Then, suddenly one summer, Katherine acted differently, as if she was superior to Elena. She never talked about it to Katherine because from time to time that summer, Katherine was more than pleased to see Elena. Ever since, Elena had taken up her distance. Now, both girls still hung out, but not as much, their friendship was never the same as the one they had shared before. Elena, however was more than thrilled that Katherine was there to welcome her. She didn't care that they weren't as close as before because she found other friends or got closer to some like with Meredith, Rebekah, Tyler, Damon and Stefan. Thinking of the brothers, she wondered where they were. Neither of them was in the house and Elena knew that they were part of this group of friends. Caroline walked over to Elena and said, "Damon and Stefan both said they love you and that they wished they were here."

"Where are they, actually?" asked Elena trying to hide that she was freaked out by the fact that she felt as though Caroline had read her thoughts.

"They had some family thing tonight that they couldn't get out of. But trust me, they really wish they were here," said Caroline with a smile. Elena beamed at her best friend and realized just how much she really had missed her presence.

Caroline was about to walk into the kitchen when Elena grabbed her elbow and forced her best friend to turn around. "Care, why did you do all of this? I know you're the master plan behind it all," said Elena while trying to gain control of her emotions.

"You've been coming and going for ten years Lena, and I just realized that you've _never_ had a memorable welcoming day. It was always just you, Jeremy, Alaric and Jenna, but nothing _exciting_. Don't get me wrong, I love Alaric and Jenna, but they're not your friends, they're the cool adults, but not your friends," she repeated.

"Thank you," was all that managed to escape Elena's mouth before a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Aww, don't cry," Caroline said while wiping the tear away. "By the way, before I forget, we're all going out tomorrow, BUT, we're having dinner at my house before," she squealed before clapping her hands in front of her face as a sign of excitement. Typical Caroline, Elena thought and couldn't help a laugh from escaping. That was the reason why she loved Caroline, she would always include Elena in whatever plan she had going on, it made Elena feel less secluded from the tiny town of Mystic Falls. It was actually through Caroline that she had gotten to know well Rebekah, Meredith and Stefan.

The barbeque was going extremely well. Everyone kept talking about everything and nothing. Alaric was sitting and talking with them as if he was just another student and not their history teacher. That was one of Alaric's qualities, people felt comfortable around him, he didn't act superior or didn't play the adult who abused his authority. At school, it was a different story, he made it clear who was in charge, outside of school, he was the same but different man, if that was even possible. All of Elena and Jeremy's friends said that Alaric, or Mr. Saltzman like they call him at school, was by far _the_ best history teacher. He was skillful, he knew how to talk to people and most importantly, he knew how to teach. It's a funny thing to say about teachers, but when you think about it, a lot of teachers know their subjects but they don't know how to teach them, Alaric, he knew both. It was midnight by the time they had finished dinner. They all had stopped eating hours ago, but they kept sitting at the table talking and laughing with one another. Eventually, the group of friends and Alaric got up and cleaned up. Soon after, one by one started leaving and going home. Elena was exhausted, she said goodbye to Alaric, who had decided to sleep over, and Jeremy and then headed upstairs to her room. Tyler had brought her suitcase in her room and she made a mental note to thank him when she saw him at Caroline's tomorrow. She hurriedly unpacked before taking a shower and then jumping into her favorite pajamas. She was about to fall asleep when her phone beeped. She half expected it to be Caroline but was surprised and even excited when she read STEFAN.

Stefan: Welcome home :) See you tomorrow :)

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

The next day went by in a blur and before she knew it, Caroline was waiting for Elena outside of her house. Elena thought it was quite ironic that Caroline had to pick her up to go to her own house. Caroline understood that Elena didn't have a car in Mystic Falls, so she had agreed to drive her anywhere, anytime. The brunette walked outside her house and climbed into the blonde's car.

"Everyone just got to my house," Caroline said as Elena buckled her seatbelt.

"Everyone, as in everyone who was meant to come?" asked Elena feeling slightly awkward. Seeing everybody at once was weird and quite overwhelming. Being the last one to arrive didn't arrange things either, she thought. As soon as Caroline's headlights would illuminate the house, people would know that they were back and the attention would be on them. Isn't that always the case, whenever someone arrives, people stare without meaning to do it? Elena didn't want to be the center of attention; she has never liked it. She liked being noticed from time to time but hated it when a whole crowd stared at her; it made her feel miniscule, self-conscious and powerless. She felt as though everyone was staring at her slight movement and if anything happened, everyone would notice. Elena was mostly concerned about Stefan being there. It's been a year since they last saw each other. Even though they talked a lot, she was unsure how to act around him and she definitely didn't want to embarrass herself when he was around. She was also questioning how it would be to see him again. Is she going to greet him with a simple wave from her hand, a smile, a hug maybe? She had absolutely no idea and she was slightly dreading it.

"Ummmm, yeah?" questioned Caroline unsure how to answer Elena's obvious question. "Except Damon, he hasn't arrived yet. He had to be some place before heading to my house, but I'm sure he'll make it soon after us."

At the sound of Damon's name, Elena smiled immediately. She had missed him so much and she just wanted to feel his strong arms around her. She wanted to sit down and talk to him for hours about everything and anything. Damon was that type of guy. Elena had a different relationship with Damon compared to the one she shared with Elijah, but she called them both 'brothers from different families.'

The drive to Caroline's hotel like home went by fast. The two girls talked about nothing in particular and soon enough they were in her driveway. Elena sat a while longer in the passenger seat looking at the veranda and the living room from outside. Although it was a huge house, it had warmth to it, you could sense that people live there and it's not cold and distant. It's the house that makes you feel comfortable when you're inside, you're not scared of walking too fast in case you might break something on your way.

Caroline was already opening the other doors of the car to get her stuff. She had done some grocery shopping before picking up Elena. The brunette quickly got out the car and helped out her friend. They both entered the house and only saw Matt and Tyler sitting at the kitchen counter. Elena put the grocery bags next to the sink and wiped her hand on her jeans. She turned around and saw Meredith, Rebekah, Bonnie and Katherine coming towards the living room. Caroline was already opening all the grocery started making dinner.

"Need any help?" Elena offered.

"No, I'm fine. Go. Socialize," Caroline answered and smiled brightly at her best friend.

Elena sat down at the counter between Matt and Tyler and gently patted Tyler's arm.

"Thanks for my suitcases last night Ty," she said.

"Of course Lena. Anytime," he answered and gently smiled at her. Tyler was the type of guy that seems distant and cold when you first meet him. However, when you get to know him, he's one of the warmest people who would hug you every time he sees you and he would just make you feel at ease. Elena got up from the kitchen counter and made her way to the bathroom. She was about to open the doors when her stomach suddenly was filled with butterflies. She felt as though someone just opened a net of butterflies inside of her. She suddenly heard a voice coming off from Caroline's room down the corridor.

"LENAAAAAA," the voice boomed. It was a voice that Elena would be able to recognize anywhere, Stefan's. Her butterflies suddenly made sense and she started to grin. She turned around and smiled widely at him. He was standing in the doorway with jeans and a white button down shirt. He had gotten more toned and tanned and his white shirt was showing it off further. His smile enveloped his face and his eyes twinkled with happiness. He was beautiful, a living Greek God. "Come here you," he said. Elena literally ran and clashed into his embrace without even thinking twice about it. She was on her tiptoes and her arms had snaked around his neck while his were around her waist. Stefan smelled her hair and smiled, it was exactly how he had remembered it, a sweet vanilla scent. Both their eyes were closed, enjoying the moment they were sharing.

"It's good to see you again," breathed Elena into his neck.

"It's good seeing you too," he answered softly while embracing her more tightly and lightly kissed her neck. Their arms unwillingly let go of each other and Stefan locked his divine green eyes into her endless brown ones.

"We should probably go join the others," he said lowly as if he didn't want anyone to hear their conversation. A light smile was playing at the corner of his lips making him irresistible. Elena simply nodded and turned around. Stefan looped his arm around her shoulders and walked her back to the living room while Elena forgot everything about going to the bathroom. She had found her Greek God again and that was all that she needed. They sat in the living room on a sofa and started talking like they hadn't talked in months. They were both surprised by the amount of things that they could still talk about. Nearly everyday while she was in Bulgaria that year they had talked, and here they are reunited, still talking. She didn't understand how a Greek God like Stefan could be so sweet and loving. In her mind, good-looking guys were usually full of themselves, but not Stefan he was different.

"I'm excited to see Damon again," Elena said with a huge grin on her face.

"You haven't seen him yet?" asked Stefan quite surprised. He knew how close they both were and it startled him that they hadn't seen each other yet. "He's been back for about a month now Lena," he added.

"I know, but I just got back last night Stef," she reminded him.

"That's right! You're the latecomer. What can I say, you kind of suck," he said and gently nudged her with his elbow. Elena gasped and put both her hands over her heart feigning to be offended.

"Elijah is the latecomer, he's the one you should yell at," she defended herself.

"Elijah! I haven't seen him in so long. How is he?"

"He's fine. We're closer than ever. He's a great guy. You'd get along with him," she said and tried to sustain a laugh while remembering all the threats that Elijah had made against Stefan only to end up by saying 'he's a good guy.'

"What are you not telling me?" he asked seeing right through her mask.

"No nothing. He's just slightly protective," she answered hesitantly. She knew that right now they were walking on somewhat dangerous grounds. During all the times that they had talked over the year, they've never talked about them and what had happened last summer between the two of them and after she left. It was like a taboo subject.

"What is he protecting you of?" he asked curiously. Elena paused before answering. She wasn't sure what to answer, should she lie or tell him the truth? What would be his reactions? Now the grounds weren't 'somewhat dangerous', they were dangerous, end of story.

"Us," she answered honestly and regretted it as soon as it came out. She didn't want to discuss it now, especially not in Caroline's house. Before Stefan could react or say anything, the whole dining room was lightened by a car's headlight. Everyone turned around to see Damon walk into the house with a smile on his face. He spotted Elena sitting on the couch next to Stefan and his smile widened. He waved at everyone as a quick way of greeting and walked towards Elena. She got up and hugged him with all of her strength. Damon was more than eager to return her hug. Elena didn't want to end the hug, She had missed Damon so much that she felt as though she needed to catch up on a year worth of hugs.

"I've missed you Lena," he said to her when they let go. "How have you been?"

Their conversation started there and it had no end. Stefan eventually got up and left, he felt slightly left out from the conversation that was being shared by the two best friends. He occasionally glanced at them and wished that he were the one talking with Elena, and not his brother. However, he was glad that Elena had a friend like Damon, someone who she can really count on. Not someone who would kiss her, kiss her best friend when she leaves only to have Elena protected by Elijah. He felt guilty thinking about everything that had happened last summer and wished that he could rewind and undo all the mistakes. But, life was the art of drawing without an eraser. Whatever mistake occurs, you work around it to try make it better. Stefan knew that he and Elena would eventually need to sit down and talk about what had happened between the two of them, but he didn't know when. Stefan walked over to Caroline and they started up an animated conversation. Elena glanced towards them a few times and it was her turn to wish that she were talking to him, not Caroline.

Elena eventually got up and joined Rebekah who was standing alone by the swimming pool. They started up an easy conversation until Rebekah said "Aren't they adorable together?" while looking at Caroline and Stefan talking. Elena forced a small chuckle.

"Yeah, adorable. Are they together?" she couldn't help ask. If he had something going on with Caroline, Elena had to know. She didn't want to be lead on for nothing and she didn't want to fall again for her best friend's guy.

"No, they're not together. Yet," she said with a mischievous smile. Rebekah saw Elena's confused face and started explaining. "Well, firstly they look adorable together. Secondly, ever since she got back from Australia, they acted kind of couply but not completely, as if they're trying to hide or something. I don't know what the problem is, but basically everyone is just waiting for them to become official."

"Yeah, they would be a great couple," answered Elena with half the enthusiasm Rebekah expected.

Elena went to the bathroom to freshen up. She felt tears being formed in her eyes the minute that Rebekah had explained Stefan and Caroline's situation. Without even realizing it, she had been falling for Stefan all over again whenever they talked. She remembered how excited she used to get whenever they were both online and he initiated the conversation. Elena let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She took a few more deep breaths before she opened the door and almost collided into Stefan who was about to knock.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were in there," he apologized.

"Yeah, no worries," she answered and smiled tightly before making her way towards the veranda. She wasn't fast enough for Stefan though; he grabbed her wrist and made her turn around.

"What's wrong Lena?"

"No, nothing. Everything's fine."

"I know you. You have a natural smile on your face, that smile is now gone. Where is it hiding?" he asked while lifting her chin up with his fingers so he could look at her directly in her eyes.

"It's right here," she answered and smiled.

"That's a forced one, not the natural one that I love. What's wrong?" he asked again. Instead of answering, Elena swallowed and fell a lump in her throat. Her eyes started to sparkle with tears. How do you tell the person who made you sad that they're the reason when they didn't even know. Stefan took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Elena's shoulder. She returned his warm hug and pressed her head to his chest since he was about a head taller than she was. She felt his strong torso and muscled arms on her shoulders and it caused a tear to escape her eyes followed by another one. She couldn't help the thought that their bodies were two puzzle pieces made for each other, they felt so comfortable in each other's embrace.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered in her hair, "whatever it is, it's going to be okay. I promise."

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**AN: Your reviews are what keeps me motivated, just saying.. ;) Ideas for the upcoming chapters? Let me know as well in the reviews and I might include them and give you the credits :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Sorry for the delay in updating. I was at a camp for the past 2 weeks and I couldn't get any writing done. I hope you will enjoy this chapter..**

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_Picking off exactly where last chapter ended.. _

Damon who was sitting by the island in the kitchen had spotted the entire scene going on between his brother and best friend. He smiled at the thought of having seen them talking when he had arrived at Caroline's house. Damon loved Caroline; she's a great girl, always enthusiastic about everything and seeing the positive side of situations. However, he preferred Elena being with Stefan rather than Caroline. He didn't have an exact reason for it, but to him Elena needed someone who would be there for her, care and love her like she deserves and he knew that Stefan would be able to provide that to her. When Damon saw Elena coming out of the bathroom and nearly colliding with his brother, he paid extra attention to the scene. He couldn't hear what they were talking about so he focused more on the body language they were showing each other, the facial expressions and gestures. He knew something was up from looking at Stefan's furrowed brow and the way he lifted Elena's head to face her. She had her back towards Damon, so he had no idea what she was portraying. Damon was almost sad when he saw Stefan hug her and she was doing everything in her power to hold back her tears. The older brother could only see the side of her face from where he was sitting in the kitchen, but he knew her all to well. When Elena bit her lower lip and looked down, he knew that something wasn't right. He saw a couple of tears stroll down her cheek and noticed that Stefan embraced her even further and whispered something to her. She had smiled weakly and walked outside to stand by the railing of the pool.

Elena decided to enjoy her night despite the comment Rebekah had made earlier about Caroline and Stefan. She somehow had expected it. Elena knew that Caroline and Stefan have always been close and given what happened last summer, it would only make sense that they picked up from where they left off. Elena's stomach twisted at the thought of her Greek God in the arms of her best friend. 'Whatever', she thought and took a deep breath of fresh air as the wind picked up.

"You okay?" she heard from behind her. She smiled as she recognized Damon's voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied and sighed deeply. Damon knew she was lying, but he also knew that she didn't want to talk about it. Instead of saying anything to her, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. She looped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder and he gently kissed her forehead. They were standing in comfortable silence, each contemplating how lucky they were to have a friend like each other. They hadn't kept in touch much when she was in Bulgaria and he in Switzerland, but they knew that their friendship would never change. They stayed outside for another fifteen minutes still holding each other talking about nothing in particular.

"Hey lovebirds, you coming inside? We're going to play a game of Kings," came Stefan's voice from behind. Elena turned around with her eyebrows arched, her mouth slightly opened as if disgusted by Stefan. 'Why is he being like this', she thought to herself. Seeing her reaction, Stefan added "sorry, but that's what everyone thinks inside, so I'm just playing their game. To be honest, I wish I had a friend like that."

"You've got Caroline," Elena snapped back and walked past Stefan to join the group who was getting prepared to play.

"What the -, " Stefan said unable to even finish his sentence. "What's gotten into her?" he turned around to look at Damon who had his hands by his shoulders and shrugged as a sign of defeat.

"I don't know, dude. I don't know," was all he managed to answer because Damon really didn't understand why Elena had snapped like that.

Elena sat down on the couch and stared at her hands in her lap. She suddenly felt sick for talking back to Stefan like that. It was the first time they saw each other in so long and she's already flared up. She remembered how she felt just before Damon had joined her by the railing, she was thinking about Caroline and Stefan and it had made her upset. Now it was just all coming out onto Stefan. It really wasn't' an excuse to get all worked up against him, she had to get it under control. She looked up and saw both brothers coming back inside. She got up and walked towards them. She placed a hand on Stefan's upper arm and quickly looked at Damon who understood that she needed to talk to Stefan.

"Later," Damon said and walked away giving Elena a _don't-be-so-hard-on-him_ look.

Her hand was burning from the electricity coming off from their touch. She wanted to jump into his arms and hug him forever; she wanted to kiss those perfect lips again because right now, just touching his arm wasn't good enough. She contained herself and let go of his arm. He looked down at her slightly confused because of her behavior earlier.

"Sorry about earlier," she said as if reading his mind. "I don't know what has gotten into me. It's just that your comment ticked me off, the one where you called Damon and I lovebirds," Elena lied. She didn't want him to know the actual reason; he didn't need to know that she was upset about him possibly getting together with Caroline. "I had no reason snapping at you like that and I-"

"Elena," he cut her off and grabbed both her shoulders, "Don't worry about it, it's fine. Take it easy," he reassured her and looked straight into her deep dark eyes. She unconsciously placed her hands on his waist as if using him for balance from the pressure he was putting on her shoulders. They stared at each other for a while longer as the electricity between them intensified. His hands that were still placed on her shoulders gently went down to her elbows and he silently said, "How about we get to that game of Kings?" Elena tightened her hold on his waist, crumpling his shirt, before letting go and nodding. She turned around and saw Damon smirking at her and then winked knowing exactly what had happened between his dream couple.

The night at Caroline's was great. Everyone was having a good time, music was blasting through the stereo and the food kept on coming. Caroline walked up to Elena with a smile on her face and Elena instantly knew that something was up.

"Elena, I've got a favor to ask you," she said guiltily. Elena chuckled slightly at Caroline's minor embarrassment.

"Anything," she answered and patted Caroline's shoulder. "You're my best friend, you can ask me absolutely anything, and you know that right?"

"I know, but you just got back and it's totally okay if you say no-"

"Care, get to the point," Elena interrupted laughing openly now.

"Can Stefan, Tyler, Matt and I sleep over tonight? It's totally fine if you say no. We wanted to go out and you live quite close and-"

"Of course Care. You don't even need to ask, you know you guys are always welcome at home."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" squealed the blonde and jumped into Elena's arms while she just rolled her eyes and smiled.

Elena phoned Jeremy who was staying home that night and told him a group was coming over for the night. He was more than excited and started taking pillows and covers out of the cupboard while still talking to Elena through the phone. Elena had to laugh at his excitment and then started asking whether she was really that boring.

"Lena, of course not. It's just that I like having people over, it makes the house seem more alive," Jeremy answered and he had a point thought Elena. "Have a good night tonight. Behave, be responsible and don't do anything stupid," he said while taking his deep, forceful voice.

"Of course, Dad," she answered jokingly.

"Love you Lena."

"Love you too Jer."

As she hung up a wave of nostalgia hit her. She thought of what she just said to Jeremy "Of course Dad" and realized that she will never get to actually say that to her father. Her parents died two years ago but the pain never left her. Yes, she moved on, but sometimes, like now, it would hit her and she would suddenly feel overly emotional. She felt a hand on her shoulder and the touch was so electrifying that it buzzed her out of her thoughts.

"It's going to be okay," she heard Stefan say from behind her. He had somehow overheard her part of the conversation and he knew that she was having a moment. She smiled as she noticed that it was the exact same words he used to reassure her when she was hugging him outside the bathroom hours ago. Somehow she believed and trusted his words this time.

Eventually people wanted to move to a nightclub. Katherine and Rebekah kept playing Kings and they were getting pretty wasted and so was Matt. Damon was playing but he knew his limits. When he felt that he had reach his drinking level, he would play with an empty drink. He was drinking from a can therefore no one knew exactly how much he had left to drink. Elena was the only person who knew his tactics in drinking games and she usually used it herself. She remembered Damon clearly explaining his strategy to her.

Rule #1: Don't forget to fake gulps, don't just bring the can to your lips and stay like a statue.

Rule #2: Never put your can down on the table because people will hear the hollow sound indicating that your drink is empty.

Rule #3: Don't ask other players how much they have left in their drinks because they will fire the question back at you.

Rule #4: By the end of the game, fake tipsiness or drunkenness.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

The entire group that was at Caroline's decided to go out to a new nightclub called "Dance Forever". They all made fun of the name because it was quite a cliché title for a nightclub. It was the kind of name that could be used for a movie or something along those lines. All fifteen of them entered the building and were surprised at how large the area was. It was a two story nightclub and from the second floor you could see look below and see what was happening downstairs. There were two bars, one on each floor and the same applied for the bathroom. It was a Monday night and there weren't many people inside. The club was open everyday just because it was summer holidays, usually it was opened only on Friday and Saturday night. There weren't many people inside but the few ones who were, Elena knew them and they were fun people to be around. The song 'Drive By' by Train started blaring through the humungous speakers and Damon turned around to look at Elena with his hand extended. Elena smiled and took his hand and they began to make their way to the dancefloor. Damon twirled her and he began to hand-jive to the music. It wasn't exactly the type of song to dance like that to, but since they both had the rhythm in their soul, they made it work. Caroline squealed when she saw them dancing. Stefan who was standing by her laughed out loud, he had forgotten how she's completely in love with their dancing. Stefan gazed at the couple dancing and smiled when he saw how happy they were. They were both smiling at each other and laughing as he kept on twirling her over and over again. He thought back to what he had said when he saw them standing by the pool at Caroline's, he said that he wished he had a friend like that, and he really did. He wanted a friend where he could be himself and act stupid for a second and then have a serious conversation the next. He wanted a friend where he could sit with her in complete silence and not feel uncomfortable at all. He wanted a friend where he wouldn't have to worry about kissing her, and that's why Caroline couldn't be that friend like Elena had suggested. Too much has happened between Caroline and him to draw the line as 'friends only'. The song changed and 'Titanium" by David Guetta and Sia came up. The crowd went wild and the dancefloor became more crowded. However, there was still enough space for a couple to hand-jive without hitting anyone in the process. Damon and Elena stopped dancing together but they were still moving to the beat of the music individually. Elena started singing along to the music and began to wonder in her own world. She was swaying from side to side as she felt an arm snake around her waist from behind. She looked over her shoulder to see Stefan smiling down at her. She turned around and saw Caroline and Damon dancing in the middle of the floor. Elena smiled back and Stefan took her hand in his. Just as the chorus started Stefan twirled her around and they started to dance like crazy.

_Stone hard, machine gun_

_Fired at the ones who run_

_Stone hard, as bulletproof glass_

The music had slowed down during that part. Elena's back was pressed against Stefan's chest and they were both breathing heavily from all the dancing. His arms were around her waist and their fingers intertwined.

_You shoot me down, but I won't fall_

_I am titanium_

_You shoot me down but I won't fall_

_I am titanium_

Elena turned around and faced Stefan. She couldn't let the gravity between them get stronger. She knew that Caroline had something for Stefan and Elena wasn't the type to backstab somebody and definitely not her best friend.

_You shoot me down but I won't fall_

_I am titanium_

_You shoot me down but I won't fall_

_I am titanium_

The music picked up once more and Elena let go of Stefan's hand. She was now jumping up and down to the beat of the music with her head swaying from side to side.

After an hour or so, the music was still playing flat out and keeping up to everybody's expectations. Elena was sitting at the bar alone taking in the scene around her. She looked over to the dancefloor and saw Stefan and Caroline dancing closely to each other with their foreheads pressed together, smiling. Elena bit her lower lip and turned her look away. She somehow felt as though nothing happened between them tonight, but she still couldn't look at them, it pained her.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena was standing outside talking to Damon and Meredith. They've been talking for a while and Meredith kept on asking 'Has Stefan and Caroline hooked up yet?'. Both Damon and Elena changed the topic of conversation every time because neither one of them wanted to talk about it. It was painful for Elena to hear people talk about Stefan being with another girl, and for Damon, he just didn't like Caroline and Stefan as a couple. He loved the fact that they were best friends, but being a couple didn't suit him. Damon also sensed deep inside that Elena was uncomfortable with the subject. As if out of nowhere, Stefan, Tyler and Rebekah appeared in front of them. Rebekah and Meredith instantly fell into an easy conversation while Tyler and Damon began an animated discussion. Stefan looked at Elena and smiled slightly on the side.

"I guess it's you and I then," he said. "Tell me Elena, how many boys are lining up for you back in Bulgaria?" Stefan asked jokingly. Elena smiled slightly.  
"No, no boys" she answered truthfully and then decided to throw the question back at him. "What about you, any girls?"

"None," he answered quickly. Elena looked deep into his green eyes and placed a soft hand onto his cheek. He leaned into it without realizing it.

"Caroline?" she asked not thinking twice about it before removing her hand. His cheek instantly felt cold without her warm hand placed against it. He smiled though at the thought of Caroline.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I mean, I'm attracted to her, I really am. But then there's something that's stopping me from actually going forward with our relationship. I don't know what that something is. I feel as though if I go ahead without knowing what it is, I might miss out on something incredible. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she answered and plastered a fake smile on her face because right now that was all she could do to make him believe that she was happy for him. "Just so you know, you and Caroline are adorable," she added. As soon as she said it, she wanted to punch herself in the face. She didn't know why she said it and she didn't even mean it.

"Thanks 'Lena," he answered and pierced his moss green eyes into her chocolate brown ones.

When they decided to go home, it was 5:30 in the morning. They stepped outside and the sky had already begun to change to a grayish color indicating that the sun was about to start rising.

"Well they sure got the name of the club right," said Damon. "I felt as though that music was never going to stop playing. It's insane in there. I love it." The rest of the group laughed and eventually said goodbye to Damon who was heading his own way back to his house. Elena smiled as she realized that this was only her first night and there were probably many more to come. Elena unlocked the front door and her four friends followed her inside. Jeremy had pinned a note by the stairs that read: BOYS TAKE MY ROOM, I'M SLEEPING ON THE COUCH. YOU BETTER BE THANKFUL. Elena laughed slightly at Jeremy's humor and then noticed a lump on the couch. She was thankful she had a brother like Jeremy who made life so much simpler. Ever since he's suddenly matured, he accepts things and deals with them as they come along. Usually he would have thrown a tantrum about people sleeping over and would have said that their house isn't a boarding house. All five of them made their way upstairs. There were two mattresses in Jeremy's room meaning that someone would sleep in his bed while Caroline and Elena shared Elena's bed. By the time every one was ready to go to sleep, it was 7 in the morning. There were sunbeams trying to make their way into the room through the thick curtains, but were unsuccessful. Caroline and Elena got into bed and the blonde silently asked the brunette.

"What do you think of Stefan and I?" Elena tried not to stiffen up at the question, but her fists still balled up by her side.

"I think you guys are adorable and meant to be," Elena lied, "he's truly a great guy and you deserve someone like him."

"I just wish we could go past this whole friendship thing and have a more serious relationship."

"I hope it works out for you," Elena quickly answered. "Good night Care," she added and rolled onto her side so her back was towards Caroline. She let a silent tear stroll down her cheek.

"Good night Lena, and thanks again," silently replied Caroline and in her next breath she was already snoring.

* * *

**AN: I've done my job (updating) now you do yours (review) :P Let me know what you liked/didn't like- absolutely anything. :) follow if you're interested to know what happens next and/or favorite if you like it already :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Thanks for the reviews :) You have no idea how happy they make me. Once again, it picks up from where it left off last chapter. Enjoy :)**

**Alexia**

* * *

Elena woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon being fried. She looked over to the other side of the bed and saw Caroline still snoring in the exact same position she fell asleep last night. She glanced at her alarm clock on her bedside table: 1pm. Elena took a quick shower and put on a denim shorts and a purple tank top. She got downstairs and was about to say good morning to Jeremy when she spotted him sprawled out on the couch. Her brows furrowed as she was wondering who else could be in the kitchen. It was definitely not Aunt Jenna since she wasn't even in Mystic Falls or planning on coming. Alaric wasn't the one to cook eggs and bacon in the afternoon, he would have insisted on a more lunch-like meal. Elena's mind remained blank as she racked her brain to figure out who was up already. She entered the kitchen and saw someone at the sink. His back was to her and all she saw was a strongly built tanned bare back, dirty blond hair and muscular arm.

"Morning Elena," Stefan said without turning around. He just knew it was her from the tingly sensation his stomach had since he heard someone coming downstairs. Only Elena was able to do that to him from a distance. Caroline gave him that same tingly sensation, but only when they were in close proximity. Elena had a hard time taking her eyes off of him. She swallowed hard before going to the fridge.

"Morning to you too," she said while keeping her head inside the fridge. She couldn't look at him without staring.

"Juice is in the fridge, coffee is in the machine, toasts are in the toaster and I'm just getting some eggs and bacon done. Make yourself feel at home," he said and finally turned around to face her. "I just hope you weren't planning on using those eggs or bacon for something else." Elena laughed out loud and shook her head no. Her eyes quickly scanned his body. His torso seemed as hard as rock and his abs looked as though they were sculpted. 'Greek God' she thought to herself before realizing that Stefan was waiting for her to say something.

"Am I not supposed to be the one telling you to feel at home?"

"Well, given the situation, I've slept in this house more than you have since the beginning of the summer. So, to answer your question, no, the roles aren't meant to be reversed." Elena couldn't stop a smile from forming. Stefan wasn't wrong, he had slept over about four times while she had slept only twice in her own house.

"Point proven," she answered and stared into his green eyes. This time, she didn't look away and neither did he. They felt as though they were anywhere but in Elena's kitchen, as if they were in a world only they could exist in.

"Morning you guys," came Caroline's cheerful voice from the doorway. Stefan looked away and went back to the sink showing his back to both girls.

"Morning Care," Elena said with half of Caroline's cheerfulness. Caroline quickly kissed Elena's cheek and then skipped to where Stefan was standing. She snaked her arms around his waist and hugged him from behind. Elena could see a smile forming onto his lips and her eyes started to prick. Caroline placed a delicate kiss on his back and then gently grazed at his sides with her fingernails. Elena could see goosebumps on Stefan's skin and he discretely shuddered.

"I'm going to go wake Jer up. He hasn't even gone out yesterday and he's sleeping more than most of us," quickly said Elena while getting up from her seat and walking towards the living room. Her heart had clenched up when she saw Caroline's interactions with Stefan and it pained her to see that he was enjoying it. She remembered her conversation with him last night; she had told him that they were adorable together. She half meant it- they were adorable together, but not as a couple, just as best friends. She also remembered Stefan telling her that he was attracted to Caroline, but something unknown was stopping him. Elena took a deep breath and pushed the thought aside. She didn't want to live in drama since the very start of the summer, besides no one knew how she felt about Stefan, except maybe for Damon. Jeremy was half awake when Elena went to see him on the couch. Elena gently shook his shoulder and he moaned as a sign that he was awake. Fifteen minutes later, Jeremy woke up and made his way to the bathroom. He came back downstairs, helped himself with some eggs and bacon and then sat on the kitchen island with Caroline, Elena and Stefan.

"How was last night?" he asked.

"Fabulous," replied Caroline with a wide grin. Elena smiled, she remembered that Caroline was on the dancefloor throughout the entire night and left only to use the bathroom or for a drink.

"It was a good first night. I missed you though," Elena answered her brother.

"How about you Stefan? And I hope you slept well in my awesome room," said Jeremy and squinted his eyes trying to pull out a mean face. Stefan chuckled out loud.

"Last night was a good night, but like Elena said, you were missed. Concerning your room," Stefan paused slightly ,"perfect. I was the lucky one and called dibs for your bed and I'll confirm, it's a really comfortable one. Thanks Jer."

"Yeah, of course. Don't worry about it," answered the youngest Gilbert sympathetically.

All four of them stayed silent while they were digging into the breakfast that Stefan had prepared when they heard muffled voices from upstairs. Soon enough, Matt and Tyler appeared in the kitchen obviously delighted by the smell of eggs, toasts and bacon that had invaded the entire house by now. They all squeezed in around the island and continued eating until the doorbell rang. Elena was puzzled for a while and had no clue who it was at the door. She laughed slightly as that was the same reaction she had when she was wondering who was in the kitchen. She opened the door and was face to face with Damon.

"Morning," she said with a large smile on her face. Damon was always able to do that; make her smile by just being there.

"More like Afternoon," he answered and pecked her cheek before hugging her tightly. Even though they saw each other yesterday, it still felt like too long. That was one thing about their relationship that no one understood, whenever they saw each other, it was like it was for the first time. Some people were jealous of their relationship because they didn't have a friend like that and they wished they did. He walked inside and spotted the group crammed in the kitchen and couldn't help himself but ask, "Why are you all squishing yourself around the kitchen island when there's a dining table right there," he pointed to the table on his right with an exasperated look.

"Easier access to the food," answered Stefan and then winked at Elena who was standing behind Damon. Elena didn't take it personally, she noticed he did that all the time and to everyone.

"Want to join us for breakfast?" Caroline asked.

"I'm good, thanks. I actually just had _lunch_," he replied and emphasized on the work 'lunch'. The group chuckled at Damon's exasperations. "I just thought I'd come because I know things are about to go down. Seriously, six friends in a house, yes Jeremy, that includes you too, calls for something epic to happen."

"Alright, who' ready for round two tonight?" asked Tyler.

"THAT'S what I'm talking about. I knew I liked you for a reason," Damon answered in a heartbeat. His voice was full of excitement. Elena just shook her head and smiled slightly. She had forgotten how much of a party-animal Damon was.

"I've got it all figured out. Dinner here tonight and then we head out to that crazy nightclub we went to last night. You guys need to admit it, it was epic," said Caroline in one go.

"I'm with Caroline on this one," answered both Salvatore brothers at the same time.

'Sounds like a plan," chirped in Matt. Tyler nodded in agreement. Elena's jaw had dropped since Tyler mentioned round 2. She was still trying to recover from the previous night and here they were already discussing the plans for tonight,

"Come on, Elena," said Caroline who spotted her best friend's reaction. "It's summer. What better ways to spend it than with your friends?"

"Jer, you in on this?" Elena asked.

"Am I in? Of course I'm in," replied Jeremy with a huge smile on his face. "I wouldn't miss it for the world," he added. Elena looked at him questioningly, what wouldn't he miss for the world she thought to herself. She then saw Caroline and Matt throwing daggers at him with their looks.

"Okay, what am I missing?" asked the brunette, certain that something was up. She didn't like the feeling of being surrounded by people who knew something that she didn't.

"What? What are you talking about? You're not missing anything," replied Matt quickly, too quickly for Elena's liking.

"Stefan?" she asked hoping that he was at least on her side.

"I would help you but I'm just as clueless, " he answered with an apologetic look. "I need to head out, buy some food for tonight," he stated.

"Tonight?" asked Elena.

"Weren't you listening to _anything_ we were saying? We're having dinner here and then going back to 'Dance Forever' or whatever it's called," replied Caroline. "But don't worry Lena, we have this under control. All you need to do is enjoy your day and we'll take care of the rest," replied Caroline with so much enthusiasm in her voice. That was one of her personality traits that Elena absolutely loved. Whatever the situation, you know you can count on Caroline for a comforting look or gesture. Stefan started walking towards the door when Caroline called after him, "Stefan, do you want me to come with you?"

"I'd love that," he answered with a small smile at the corner of his lips. Caroline linked her arm with Stefan's and they both headed out the front door. Elena's mouth twitched without her meaning to do it. She turned around and her eyes locked with Damon's piercing blue ones. She mouthed 'What?' to him only to see him shake his head and mouth back 'Nothing'. She arched her eyebrows questioning him but he just pursed his lips, shook his head again and shrugged. An hour later Stefan came back but he was alone. It was about 3 in the afternoon by then.

"Caroline had something to do. She'll be back later, like around 6 or something," explained Stefan.

"What is she doing that's going to take her 3 hours?" asked Elena.

"It's Caroline. She's usually the only one who knows her actual plan. I asked her multiple times but she kept saying it was personal. What is it that's so personal that she wouldn't even tell me? Me, out of all people, she should be able to trust me," stated Stefan. Elena's mouth twitched once again and she wrinkled her nose as if trying to stop her emotions from showing. Damon had seen all of that from across the room. He knew that Elena wasn't thrilled with the idea of Stefan and Caroline. Elena turned in his direction and he nodded towards the front door. She smiled tightly before following him outside. She immediately knew what this was going to be about but she also knew that she could talk about it to Damon. He sat down on the porch steps and Elena sat right next to him. Damon wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"You want to talk about it?" he gently asked.

"There's nothing to talk about," replied Elena with something close to regret in her voice. "It's done."

Damon sighed and rubbed her arm up and down to show her that he was there no matter what. He loved the fact that neither of them actually said what they were talking about they both knew.

"Nothing is done Lena," he reassured her. "Yes, it seems as though they both want something to happen-" he stopped mid-sentence because of Elena's daggering look. "I'm sorry, I know it's not the best way to start a comforting speech but I'm not done yet. So yes, it seems as though they both want something to happen but it's when they're going to be together that he's going to realize that he threw away a diamond to settle for a rock."

"Easy there. Caroline is my best friend, don't criticize her like that."

"I'm not criticizing. I love Caroline, she's great but you're greater. You're also my best friend Lena and I want you to be happy. I hate the fact that you're hurting because of my little brother."

"Hey, if they find happiness in each other then be it. If they're happy; I'm happy. And just a quick by the way, he didn't throw away a diamond since he wasn't holding it in the first place."

"I know what happened last summer Lena, he told me. I also know that no one else knows except probably for Elijah," said Damon. Elena smiled at the sound of his name. It's been only a couple of days that she's last seen him but it felt like months. He was coming in another 4 days and she was more than excited to see him again, she missed him terribly.

"Does Caroline know anything?" she asked. Damon was about to answer when they heard the front door open. They turned around and saw Stefan leaning against the doorframe smiling down at them.

"We're going to watch a movie in the living room if you guys would like to come join," he proposed. He didn't wait for an answer before turning back around and heading inside the house.

"We should probably go join them inside," suggested Damon. "And to answer your question, no, Caroline doesn't know. Like I told you, the people who knows what happened last summer are Elijah, Stefan, you and I, that's it." Elena nodded slightly and walked inside the house to join everyone in the living room. Tyler, Matt and Jeremy were all sitting on one couch while Stefan was sitting alone on the other. Damon and Elena sat next to him, the girl in the middle. Jeremy had picked the movie and it was _The Hunger Games_. It was a perfect fit for everyone's liking: lots of action and killing for the boys and a slight bit of romance for Elena to also appreciate the movie. She was a sucker for romance. Barely 15 minutes into the movie and Elena's eyes started to be heavier than usual. She hadn't realized how tired she really was until she sat down on the couch. She rested her head on the back of the couch and in a matter of seconds she had passed out. A couple of hours later, Elena jerked awake and realized that she was no longer sitting on the couch, but lying on it. Her head was in Stefan's lap and her legs on Damon's. She smiled lightly and then looked around to see that everybody had fallen asleep as well. The credits were just about to finish scrolling on the screen and Elena smiled at the thought that no one actually finished the movie.

"Easy there," she heard Stefan murmur with a light chuckle in his voice. She placed her head back in his lap and looked up to see his head resting on the couch and his eyes closed.

"Sorry," she answered and then slowly got up from the couch and gently ruffled Damon's hair before heading into the kitchen. It was 6pm already so she decided to have some tea even though it was slightly late. She prepared enough tea for everyone when they woke up. Caroline was meant to come back soon but there was no sign of her, not even a text message. A few minutes later, the boys slowly started to immerge from their nap. Once again, they all crammed around the kitchen island and drank their tea. They were talking about nothing in specific, just friendly chitchat. Elena sat on the kitchen counter by the sink and Damon came next to her and leaned against the counter.

"How did I end up lying on you?" she asked him, still confused as to how she ended up in that position.

"Stefan and I realized how tired you were and so we wanted you to have a good sleep. I took your legs and he took your head and from the look of your face, you slept like a baby."

"You have no idea," she said and giggled slightly. "Thanks Damon." He nodded his head in appreciation. "Hey Stefan, thanks for letting me sleep on you," she called out.

"You're more than welcome Lena," he answered and just like his brother, he nodded his head slightly.

The hour was nearing 7pm when there was an urgent knock on the door. Elena jumped down the kitchen counter hoping that it was Caroline because she was getting worried as she was meant to be back an hour ago. She eagerly opened the door and almost collided with Elijah. Elena let out a loud gasp and her jaw dropped.

"What are you doing here?" she asked and jumped into his arms. "You were meant to come next week."

"I know, but I just felt like I was missing out on a lot already so I came early. Luckily you have a friend like Caroline who organized everything and came to pick me up at the airport." That's when Elena spotted Caroline a couple of steps behind Elijah smiling widely. Her entire face was illuminated with joy.

"Thank you Care," Elena said while stepping outside and hugging Caroline tightly. All of a sudden, everything made sense: why she was throwing daggers at Jeremy when talking about tonight, using Stefan as an excuse to get out of the house and why she had 'personal' stuff do to. Elena heard Damon and Stefan asking what the noise was all about. As they stepped outside and saw Elijah, Damon was the first one to make a move. He gave a manly hug to Elijah and pat his back and Stefan followed but with less eagerness. Damon and Elijah have been friends for a long time and they've always gotten along well. Stefan and Elijah used to be close, but when he moved to Europe their relationship faded slightly. Matt, Tyler and Jeremy knew about the surprise but they were still overjoyed to see the newcomer again after a long year.

"I'm sorry I took so long," apologized Caroline. "His plane got delayed and then we had to go to his house to do I don't know what. Oh yeah, he insisted on unpacking, so he did it in record time. Then he packed a bag to come over. Elena, he's sleeping over," she continued. Elena laughed and nodded.

"Can I sleep over too? I feel slightly excluded now," Damon asked.

"Of course you can Damon," she replied.

"Woah, full house tonight," said Jeremy overjoyed. "However guys, this time I'm sleeping in my bed." All the guys laughed.

The evening went by quickly. Just like Caroline had promised, everyone was preparing various stuff and all Elena had to do was relax. So she sat down with Elijah on the couch in the living room and they talked as if they hadn't seen each other in forever. Damon joined them and the three of them kept on talking while the rest were preparing dinner. Once they had dinner Bonnie, Meredith and Rebekah came over to join them. This time however, they didn't waste anytime in going to 'Dance Forever'. They all wanted to make the most out of it since it was a great nightclub.

"'Dance Forever', seriously?" said Elijah when Rebekah told him the name of it.

"Dude, we had the same reaction last night when we saw it," said Damon. "But don't underestimate it. That club is beyond the normal level of amazing. Trust me on this one." Elijah chuckled at Damon's passion for the club.

They all headed out and once again, the entire group was blown away by how the club was. It was rather simple if you thought about it, but it worked well, with the bars and bathrooms on both floors. The main dancefloor on the first floor, it was all well thought of. The newest songs kept on playing one after the other and Elena knew that those would be her summer songs this year. She was on the dancefloor non-stop with Elijah, Damon, Bonnie and occasionally with Meredith. She saw glimpse of Stefan throughout the night, but she couldn't help the feeling that he was ignoring her and she didn't understand why. Caroline all of a sudden appeared in front of Elena with a big smile.

"I haven't seen you at all. What's up?" Elena asked with her brows furrowed.

"Stefan and I kissed!" she squealed and her smile widened. Elena instantly felt all of her dinner move back up to her throat. She swallowed hard and forced a smile. She then hugged Caroline before she could see that something was wrong.

"I'm happy if you're happy Care," she said. Those were the exact words that she had said to Damon that afternoon. She meant it though, if they found happiness with each other, Elena was happy, at least that's what she told herself. Elena let go of her best friend and headed to the bar. She eventually made her way upstairs. She wanted to be alone and not have music blasting through her ears. Upstairs, the music was still loud, but not as loud as on the first floor. Elijah soon joined her with a drink. He handed it over to her and they started talking.

"Definitely a good club," he stated while looking around. She was glad that he came up, at least he would distract her from what was really bothering her.

"It's crazy! We came here last night as well and it was just as epic. Maybe a little less, since you weren't there," she said with a smile.

"Awww, you don't need me to have a good time Lena," he replied.

"I know, but you just make the night worthwhile. I like when you go out here in Mystic Falls. I don't know an enormous amount of people here while the rest of the group does. So when you go out, I know that I can come talk to you anytime, I know that there's definitely someone that I know." Elijah smiled and hugged Elena.

"I missed you too Lena," he answered and then let go of the hug.

"Mind if I join?" they heard Stefan ask behind them. Suddenly she paid attention to the song that was playing and she realized that it was "Save the World" by Swedish House Mafia. She wondered whether Stefan came here on purpose or whether it was just a coincidence. Stefan stepped closer to Elena and wrapped an arm around her shoulder while she wrapped an arm around his waist. They started swaying side by side to the beat of the music. Elijah saw all of this and couldn't help smile. They were cute together and he still didn't understand how Stefan went to Caroline right after Elena. The song eventually ended and it was already a complete different song playing- the magic of a DJ. Stefan turned around to face Elena and hugged her. He bent his head so that he could whisper to her.

"I hooked up with Caroline," he said. Elena cringed in his embrace but he mistook it. He thought that she hugged him tighter because she was happy for them.

"Why did you wait before telling me? Why not tell me since you got upstairs?" she couldn't help ask.

Stefan paused for a while before answering, "'Save the World' was playing and it reminds me of you. I want that song to be kept as a memory of you and not bring someone else into it," he said with complete honesty.

"Thanks for telling me," she said because she truly was thankful. She was glad to know that he was willing to share that with her and not do the opposite, hide it.

"What happened to that something that was blocking you from moving ahead in your relationship with her?"

"Well, I figured that if I didn't do anything now, I might regret it. So if that something is truly better than what I share with Caroline, I'm sure that I'll figure it out. I think I need to be with Caroline in order to figure out what that something is. Am I even making an sense?" he chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, yeah you are, kind of," she replied.

He tightened his arms around her waist before letting go. He looked into her eyes and he thought he would have seen happiness and joy, but instead he saw her brown eyes covered by a thick layer of water and showed no other emotions than sadness. He held her face in his hands and desperately tried to search for something other than sadness in her eyes but he couldn't find anything and she would refuse to look at his face. The first tear escaped her eye and she wished that she were anywhere else but here. She wasn't meant to cry, not like that.

"No, no no," he said while wiping her tears with his thumb.

"It's okay, I'll be fine," she said while trying to smile. "I'll be fine," she repeated as she removed his hands from her face with her own hands. She turned around and headed back downstairs. She found Damon sitting there. She ordered two beers, one for him and one for herself.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Drinking my night away," she answered. Damon didn't bother asking for the reason because he already knew. He actually saw it happen, he was slightly disappointed, but mostly he was sad for Elena because he knew that she would be crushed when she found out.

"I'm with you on this one," he said as he lifted his beer slightly. Elena clinked it with her own before taking a long gulp.

* * *

**AN: Please don't hate me, but it had to happen. Don't worry, I'm a Stelena fan so don't despair :P Let me know what you thought of the chapter or the story overall. I would also like to know what you think of Damon and Elena's relationship: is it too much, or is it alright? I just want them to be friends that will look out for each other no matter what. Final thing: the pace of the story: too slow or does the pace not bother you?**

**Thanks again :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Am I extremely sorry for the latest update ever ! I have no excuses at all, which is the worse of it all. I hope you'll still enjoy this chapter and that you haven't let me down!**

**Once again, i'm so sorry, i'll try make it up by uploading a new chapter soon.. However i don't want to make a promise i can't keep!**

**Enjoy your reading**

_Once again, picking up from where I left off last chapter.._

Elena had done a mixture of shots and other drinks that people brought her while trying to forget what both Stefan and Caroline told her. She kept replaying their two sentences over and over again in her head _"Stefan and I kissed" _and "_I hooked up with Caroline_". She thought at how differently they both phrased their actions. It seemed as though Caroline's point of view was much more sentimental while Stefan's was just a normal thing that happened, as if he didn't really care. However, Elena knew that Stefan wasn't the type of guy to hook up with anyone without having a tiny bit of feeling for the girl. Damon, who was still by her side at the bar handed her another shot. It broke her out of her thoughts and she looked at Damon skeptically. She knew that she should stop but her heart was saying something else. She just wanted to stop feeling sad about Caroline and Stefan's situation and to enjoy the night. She took the shot from Damon's hand and gulped it down. Damon laughed out loud after seeing Elena's reaction.

"Alright, let's get you back on the floor, I will not allow you to sit down at the bar and mope, no ways!" he said while taking her hand and leading her onto the dancefloor. She didn't want to dance just yet. She wanted all of her drinks to settle down before moving, but Damon wasn't giving her any choice. She and Damon danced for a while. She then saw Stefan at the edge of the dancefloor so she walked over to him.

"Come dance with me," she said. The alcohol had buzzed her a little bit so she was more confident than she normally would have been.

However, he didn't think twice about her offer. He took hold of her hand and led her back towards the dancefloor. She was holding his hand tightly before loosening her grip completely. She wanted to know whether she was the one holding his hand or the other way around. She smiled at the thought that he was holding hers and wasn't planning on letting go of it anytime soon. He had enveloped her tiny hand into his large warm one. She knew that she shouldn't be happy at such a tiny thing, but she couldn't help herself. Elena then realized that she might have forced him to dance while he was just happy watching from the edge.

"You know you don't have to dance if you don't want to."

"That is such an Elena thing to say. You over think too much. You take things that are so simple and you keep on thinking about it and it stresses you out. You make yourself worry for no reasons. I'm a little bit like that."

"Well I guess it's contagious then," she answered. Stefan laughed out loud.

"Good one. Piece of advice though- Chill. Stop making yourself panic. And so what if you had forced me to dance? I would have simply said no. But I'm here on the floor next to you because I want to, not because you dragged me, okay?"

"Okay," she said and gently nodded her head.

They danced for a while and Damon was with them. The music wasn't at its peak, but they were still having a good time. After a while though, Elena got tired and thirsty. She made her way back to the bar and ordered a drink of water and then sat on one of the stools. The bartender gave Elena her drink before continuing with the next customer. She sipped it slowly until she felt as if someone was leaning against the bar next to her. She didn't have to question who it was because her stomach had a tingly feeling.

"Stefan," she said, unable to think of anything else to say.

"What is up with you and your water?" he said smiling down at the glass in her hand.

"I don't understand. What do you mean?" she sincerely asked. Elena was confused by Stefan's comment.

"Don't you remember last summer when I was willing to buy you a drink and all you wanted was a glass of water? Damon ended up buying a mojito for you and you thanked the both of us thinking that I had chipped in too and when…"

"Yeah. Yeah, I remember," Elena said while cutting him in mid sentence. She remembered that night perfectly well, it was the night they first got together. Well it was the only night they got together. She hadn't thought that Stefan would have remembered it with as much details though.

"Why do you keep referring back to last summer Stefan?" Elena couldn't help herself from asking. It was twice in the same night now that he made a reference to last summer.

"Now it's my turn to be confused," he said with a small chuckle.

"First you come upstairs and dance with me to 'Save the World' and tell me that its 'our' song and now you're talking about when we were at the bar ordering drinks that same night. Why are you trying to relive all of those memories?" Elena's voice softened as she continued her monologue, "There's a reason it's a memory Stef, it's because you can't recreate or relive them. The moment has passed. Things have changed. People have changed. And you're just left with memories."

"The worst part of holding the memories is the loneliness of it. If you think about it, memories are hidden within someone. Memories need to be shared."

"But why memories of _that_ night?" she asked putting emphasis on 'that' so he would catch on exactly to what she was referring to. Stefan was getting nervous. She could tell by the way he kept changing his weight from foot to foot and avoiding eye contact.

"It's because I don't want to lose that memory, Elena. After everything that has happened, that night is one that I don't want to forget. Ever," he answered truthfully and he finally made eye contact with her. Elena felt her heart clench and her eyes burn. _I have got to get a hold of my emotions and stop crying all the freaking time_, she thought to herself.

"You've got to stop doing that," she answered. "I know I might make this extremely awkward by what I'm going to say next but I've got to get it out of my system. Okay," Elena paused and took a deep breath. She knew she would probably regret what she was going to say but she couldn't keep it inside of her anymore. "You've got to stop leading me on Stefan. I mean I get the fact that you're into Caroline and all and you hooked up tonight, but just drop the act with me. Whenever we have those little conversation of ours and you always bring back memories or you do stuff that's really sweet or just your freaking presence. Whenever you're around, there's this… there's this…" Elena was lost for words. How could she describe what she felt whenever he was around without making her sound crazy?

"There's this electricity?" he finished for her.

"Yes, this electricity!" she exclaimed, and then it hit her. "Wait, what? You feel it too?" Stefan couldn't help from chuckling a little bit.

"Elena, the only way I know you're in a room is because I have goosebumps on my entire body. My stomach feels as though there's been a net full of butterflies that's been released." Elena then remembered that they had a similar conversation on Facebook chat right after last summer.

"THAT'S what I'm talking about Stefan. You've got to STOP saying those stuff to me. What do I do next? You're involved with Caroline and I'm just there. You're this amazingly sweet guy and whatever you say or do makes me fall even harder for you and there's nothing I can do about it," Elena then stopped completely. She realized she might as well just have said 'I love you' to him. She was glad that he knew how she felt about him, but she felt horrible knowing that there was nothing that could be done about it. Things with him and Caroline have gone to far to stop now. "I'll see you later," she said and quickly walked away with her now empty glass of water. Stefan sat at the bar dumbfounded. He kept replaying Elena's last line right before she left him "_whatever you say or do makes me fall even harder for you."_ Did she just informally say 'I love you' to me, he thought. He scratched the back of his neck and kept his gaze on the floor. He then bit his nail and kept on thinking about what they just talked about. If she had given him the time to respond to her monologue the only words that would have been able to escape his mouth would be "I love you". He loved Elena. He knew it, but now he was already involved with Caroline. He was in a situation he couldn't back out of. Caroline has been his best friend for too long and things have intensified over the last year, he couldn't let her go just now. Even if he explained the situation, he couldn't change what was happening in their lives. Hell, he though, if he explained the situation, Caroline and Elena would probably never talk to each other again.

Meanwhile, Elena was back upstairs of the club replaying the conversation over and over again in her head. She couldn't believe how stupid she was. She knew she would regret telling those things to Stefan, but she never thought it would make her feel that bad. She wanted to rewind it to when he first came up to her at the bar and did that stupid comment about her glass of water. She death glared the glass that she was still holding.

"There you are," came a voice from behind her. She turned around and saw Damon. "I've been looking everywhere for you! You just left me there dancing on my own. How shameful of you!" he said and then smiled widely. Elena giggled. "Anyways, most of the group has left already and by that I mean Elijah, Jeremy, Matt, Tyler and Meredith. The guys are sleeping at yours I presume and Meredith has gone home. The only people left are Stefan, Caroline, you and I."

"Oh fun," she answered with a tone full of sarcasm.

"I saw the two of you having some intense conversation at the bar," he commented.

"Damon, is there a time where you _don't _see Stefan and I talking? It seems as though you know about every single time we spend together," she couldn't help herself from answering. Damon thought for a little bit before answering.

"Well he's my baby bro and you're my best friend. You're the two people I will always look out for. You make it pretty simple by always spending time talking to each other meaning that I don't need to feel any anxiety while looking for you."

"Oh such a protector. What would I do without you?" she said while placing a hand on her heart and feigning happiness.

"Shut up," he replied. "Would you like to go home anytime soon?"

"Actually, I wouldn't mind at all. I mean, everyone is more or less gone so we might as well just leave."

"Alright, let's go look for Caroline and Stefan and then I'll drive you back home," answered Damon.

"You're still sleeping over right?"

"That's only if I'm still invited to stay over."

"You don't even need to ask Damon," she said lightly and wrapped her arm around his waist. He circled his arm around her shoulder and they both made their way back downstairs. They found Stefan who was still sitting at the bar where Elena left him and then Caroline was on the dancefloor. Caroline was willing to stay a little longer, but as she saw that everyone wanted to go home, she accepted without complaining.

The drive back was pretty silent; everyone was more tired than they thought they were. Stefan had taken the passenger seat while Caroline and Elena were in the back seat. Elena still felt awkward about what she had said to Stefan. The worse part, she thought, she didn't know how he felt about her, about the situation he's in, about everything. Elena silently unlocked her front door since Jeremy had locked it again after he came back. Caroline headed straight to Elena's room while Stefan and Damon lingered a little longer downstairs with Elena. They went to the kitchen and started making toasts- they were all starving.

"You and Caroline huh?" stated Damon. Elena's nose wrinkled up without her even noticing but then she turned her gaze onto Stefan who was looking down. He scratched the back of his head like he always did when he was nervous and then said: "Yeah, I guess so." Elena swallowed down the lump and pretended to go check on the toaster while breathing in and out, controlling herself. The room went into an uncomfortable silence and then Elena suddenly broke the silence by announcing that the toasts were ready. They ate and then fell into an easy conversation about their night out. No one mentioned anything about Caroline and Stefan again. Eventually Stefan made his way upstairs leaving Damon and Elena alone in the kitchen.

"You're such a beast Elena! You've eaten about 6 slices of toast!" exclaimed Damon.

"I was hungry," she replied back as if it was an obvious statement. He saw her laugh out loud before her smile quickly became pursed lips and her gaze shifted. Damon knew that face all too well. Pursed lips, eyes fixed on the floor and shoulders moving up and down indicating that she was taking deep breaths through her nose. He stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head and shook her head slightly- her way of saying "I can't do this anymore." His ice blue eyes pierced her brown ones and her first tear strolled down. Damon sighed heavily before he hugged her tightly. She returned his hug more than willingly because that was what she really needed right now, someone to hug and somehow Damon had figured it out. His arms were around her shoulders while hers were around his waist. Her head was perfectly cradled on his shoulder and then she started to sob. Damon rubbed his hand up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her.

"It'll be okay 'Lena," he gently whispered.

"No. No it's not. The worse part is, no matter how much it hurts to think at where we are now, I don't want to let go of the memories we had together," she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Memories aren't something you let go of that easily, they stay with you for a lifetime."

Damon tightened his grip around her shoulder and stayed silent. Right now, he knew that Elena just needed to get everything out; she didn't want to hear people telling her that it will be okay. After a good minute or so, Elena slowly loosened her hold onto Damon.

"How did you know how I felt about Stefan?" she asked.

"You can't fool me Elena, not when it concerns my brother as well. You've got this smile on your face and I see how you're more self-conscious when he's around. You're good at hiding it, that I have to admit- but not good enough to hide it from me. But don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"I know it's safe, otherwise I wouldn't have talked to you on the porch steps earlier or I wouldn't have sobbed like a five years old kid in your arms just now. However, I really have to snap out of it. Him and I, it's never going to happen."

"You know what they say: Never say never."

"Whatever keeps you sleeping at night. Good night Damon," she said and kissed his cheek before heading upstairs.

"'Night 'Lena."

Damon got into Jeremy's room and noticed one last mattress left next to the wall. He silently got changed, brushed his teeth and then lay down. He noticed he was sleeping next to Stefan. However, the youngest Salvatore wasn't sleeping just yet. He had heard Elena and Damon talking downstairs, well not exactly heard. He could make out murmurs but no actual words.

"How's Elena?" Stefan couldn't help himself from asking his brother. He knew that Elena must have talked to him.

"She's a wreck Stef, I'm not going to lie about it," the oldest brother answered truthfully. Damon heard Stefan sigh loudly. "What are you going to do baby bro?"

"There's nothing I can do Damon. I'm stuck in a relationship I can't get out of. Things went overly fast between Caroline and I and now I don't know how to tell her to stop." He sighed again.

"I'm sorry," was all that Damon could say.

"The worse part is that I'm actually falling for Elena all over again. But I can't tell her that because I'm with her slash my best friend. F my life."

"There's always a way around it. We'll figure something out. Go get some sleep, we'll talk about it tomorrow morning."

"Damon, before we go to sleep, I'd like to thank you. Thank you for being there for Elena and thank you for dealing with all of my shit."

"That's what best friends and brothers are for. Good night Stef"

"Night Damon."

**One question: What do you think of Elena and Damon? Too much, or is it okay? Please review- i want to make you like my story- haha :**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: So here's chapter 11.. I've been really sick this weekend so i'm sorry if this chapter is disappointing in the way i wrote things.. I apologize in advance! **

A week or so has passed and Elena spent more and more time with Elijah and Damon and tried to distance herself from Stefan. She still felt something for him, but seeing him as a couple with Caroline was too painful for her. Gravity is a force greater than anything, she thought. Sometimes, gravity pushes you a little too hard towards the center of the Earth that you fall hard and hurt yourself. Right now, Elena felt as though Stefan's gravity pushed her to the ground and she couldn't get back up while he was fighting it. The pull that Elena felt towards Stefan was greater than the pull he felt towards Elena.

Elena was glad that her best friend had found happiness, but it didn't mean that she had to live it with her. Elijah had caught onto the situation quickly. He hadn't asked Elena about it, but having known her his entire life, he didn't have to. She was an open book to him. Elena was ever more grateful for having her two closest guy friends with her to distract her from the situation. She knew that she couldn't avoid the newly formed couple forever, but right now it was just too new for her. The trio was on a park bench, watching people train for soccer in the field in front of them.

"You know you can't avoid them forever, right?" asked Elijah as if reading her thoughts. She smiled at how well they both knew her. It was most probably why she always hung out with them, she didn't have to lie to them or say anything-they could see right through her. They could just look at her and they would know exactly what her mood is.

"I know. Right now though they're in their 'all new, all good' phase where everything is going extremely well. I can't really watch that," explained Elena.

"Not exactly, Elena," objected Damon.

"What do you mean?"

"When we came back the other night from the club, Stefan and I had a little talk. He said, and I quote :"I'm stuck in a relationship I can't get out of."

"What is that suppose to mean?" she asked. She had an idea but she wasn't entirely sure.

"As a third party member, I see it as him being in a relationship with someone he doesn't love," said Elijah.

"Exactly," confirmed Damon.

"So why doesn't he just end it?" she asked almost furiously. Her voice was slightly louder and her brow was furrowed. She hadn't meant to get so worked up about it, but if one of them didn't want it, they shouldn't force the other person in it.

"He told me that things between him and Caroline had moved on too fast and now he just doesn't know how to tell her to stop." Elena sighed after hearing Damon's explanation. She just didn't know what to do. To top it all, she still didn't know how he felt about her. She practically opened her heart out to him at the club last week and she got no response to him.

"You're forgetting the crucial part Damon," said Elijah breaking Elena from her thoughts.

"Wait, you guys talked about this?" she asked shocked. As a response, both men chuckled.

"Well, someone's has to take care of their baby sister and we're the two people that knows more or less everything about you. So in order to make sure you're happy, we communicate," said Elijah matter-of-factly. Elena huffed, she hated it when they over protected her and they knew that, making them even more protective. They didn't only protect her physically, but emotionally as well.

"So what was the crucial part?" Elena asked trying to change the topic of conversation.

"I'm not sure whether you should know, Elena," Damon hesitated.

"Come on! You can't just leave me hanging like that. Just tell me, how bad can it be?"

"It's actually not bad, I would say it's good news," said Elijah.

Damon stayed silent for a little while before breathing in heavily and continued. "When Stefan and I talked that night, it didn't just stop at that 'Caroline and I are moving on too fast' crap. He told me that," Damon paused again. He really wasn't sure whether he should continue. Elena deserved to know, but Damon wasn't the one to tell her, Stefan was. Damon looked at Elena and saw her expectant face, waiting to hear the rest of what he had to say. "He told me that he's falling for you all over again," he finished remembering that conversation and every details.

"What?" she couldn't stop herself from asking, surely she must have heard it wrong. So was the gravity pulling from both sides, not just from her side like she thought? Elena was confused and need a minimum amount of answers.

"You heard him 'Lena," Elijah said.

"What do you mean all over again? When was there ever a first time?" questioned Elena. She couldn't remember Stefan ever telling her that he felt something. Then it hit her- the Facebook chat conversation they had right after last summer where he had mentioned something about it. However, she couldn't remember what he had told her exactly. She sighed, she couldn't handle any of it. Elijah scooted closer to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"You'll figure it out 'Lena, I know you will," he reassured her. She closed her eyes not wanting to think about it. What has she gotten herself into? She couldn't just go after Stefan. Caroline is her best girl friend she could never steal her guy away, not now, not in a lifetime. She got carried away when her phone beeped once in her pocket.

"Dinner at my place tonight. Love- C," Elena read out loud. The two boys also had their phones out reading the same message from Caroline.

"Well that's a bummer I can't come. I already promised Meredith to take her to the movies. She's been bugging me about 'Perks of a Wallflower' since she finished the book," informed Elijah.

"It's 'Perks of _Being _a Wallflower'," corrected Elena. "And since when do you go out to movies with Meredith?" she asked curiously.

"I like her, she's cool. We're going just as friends. Seriously, I could never picture myself dating her. She has _flaws_," he said emphasizing the word 'flaw'. Both Elena and Damon chuckled; Meredith could be difficult sometimes.

"It's okay, I'll go with you," Damon said. She knew that Stefan would obviously be invited tonight and she just couldn't face him alone.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Just as Elena got home, she had barely any time to shower and get dressed for the dinner tonight. They hadn't realized how long they had spent in the park until it was starting to get dark. They gotten home at 7pm and dinner at Caroline's was at 730pm. Damon came to pick her up at 720. She opened the front door for him although she was nowhere near being ready. Her makeup was half done, she had a baggy shirt and shorts and no shoes.

"How much time do girls need to get prepared? It's sad!" he said unbelievably.

"Hey, I think I did a pretty good job," she defended herself. "I shampooed my hair, dried them and did half my make up in 20 minutes. That should be world record."

Damon just shook her head and ushered her back to her room, "GO, we have to hurry!"

Elena quickly finished off her makeup, threw on a dark slim jean and a purple shirt that molded onto her body showing off her athletic body. Damon looked her up and down and smirked.

"No Damon! Let's just drive," Elena commented feeling slightly awkward being scrutinized by Damon.

"I didn't say anything," he replied lifting his hands in the air.

"Let's go, please?"

As they got to Caroline's house, they realized it was empty. No music, no laughter was heard, nothing. Damon and Elena exchanged looks. This wasn't Caroline's type of dinners. They got out of the car and slowly made their way to the house. They slid the glass doors open and suddenly they could hear Caroline's laugh followed by her enthusiastic chatter.

"Sound proof glass doors, really?" Damon asked quietly which made Elena giggle. "Hey Caroline," he added in a more cheerful note.

"Hiiiiiiiii," she answered coming out from the kitchen. "Well, everybody had other plans, so basically it's just the four of us," Caroline said.

"Four of us?" asked Damon.

"Yeah, I'm stuck here as well," said Stefan from the kitchen. Caroline giggled and then turned her back and made her way into the kitchen again. Elena looked worriedly at Damon, who just squeezed her shoulder slightly and nodded. She knew what he meant by it 'everything is going to be okay, don't worry.' As they followed Caroline back into the kitchen, Elena could feel her palms getting sweatier, why was she getting so nervous? However, she got her answers when she entered the kitchen and her eyes locked with Stefan's from across the room. His green eyes fixed on her doe brown ones.

"Hey", he finally said. She smiled tightly and mumbled a 'hi'. She didn't know how to react around him anymore, not after what Damon and Elijah told her that afternoon. Damon cleared his throat before giving her a warning look, she squinted at him and before they knew it they were having a conversation of their own with their eyes only. Caroline and Stefan watched them and were amused by their behavior.

"Are we interrupting something?" asked Caroline.

"No, it's just Damon being stupid," Elena answered.

They all eventually had dinner and conversation flowed easily. Stefan and Elena talked as if nothing had happened and they were back to being comfortable around each other. A few times, whenever Caroline pecked Stefan, Elena looked away, but that was the only times things got awkward.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in AGES, 'Lena! Why is that?" Caroline said when dinner was over.

"I don't know. We both had stuff to do I guess," replied Elena.

"But it's not like us, usually we spend at least an hour with each other every single day. I can't believe I haven't seen you for an entire week!" the blonde said surprised.

"Girls, right?" Damon said to Stefan and rolled his eyes. "You're my brother and I don't have the need to see you everyday," he pointed out. Stefan chuckled and shook his head.

"Well I think we need some music to liven things up here," Caroline said and turned the TV onto a music channel. The song 'I Won't Give Up' by Jason Mraz started to play and Caroline held her hands on her chest, "Awwww, I love that song. It's so deep and meaningful!" she said with a face full of emotions. Her brows were slightly knitted together and her mouth was turned upside down. Elena laughed at her friend's facial expression.

"When I look into your eyes, it's like watching the night sky," Caroline began to sing. "Or a beautiful sunrise, well there's so much they hold. And just like them old stars, I see that you've come so far, to be right where you are. How old is your soul?"

"She can really sing," Damon commented while Caroline sung her heart out with the chorus.

"I think she forgot we're even here," remarked Stefan. Elena just stared at Caroline. If there was once thing that Caroline was beyond amazing at, it was singing, no doubts. Elena sat down on a single sofa and continued watching her best friend sing with her eyes closed. Then the part came when the music picked up and Jason Mraz sings a little louder. Stefan took Elena's hand without any warning, twirled her once before holding her close and started to move to the rhythm of the music. Their foreheads were pressed together, but somehow they managed to maintain eye contact. Her hands were around his neck while his were around her waist. Damon who saw it all happen made sure that they got to live their little moment by scooping Caroline in his arms. He kept Caroline's back towards Stefan and Elena the entire time.

'_Cause even the stars, they burn. Some even fall to the Earth. We've got a lot to learn, God knows we're worth it. No, I won't give up_.

It was during that moment that they both felt everything that had to be felt. They didn't say anything to each other, but the gravity and the pull between them spoke for itself. She suddenly knew how Stefan felt about her and so did he. Never in his entire life has he felt so sure about someone. The only problem was: they couldn't have each other. He was dating Caroline and Elena wouldn't wait forever for someone who she couldn't have. Right there, it felt as though they were the only two people in the house. Hell, it felt like they were the only two people in the world. The song continued and their dancing ended up being them just hugging each other tightly. Their bodies were molding perfectly into one another. Elena had crumpled his t-shirt into her tiny fists while he had both his arms completely wrapped around her waist holding her securely. His head was in the crook of her shoulder and he was unconsciously breathing in her honey and vanilla smell. A small tear escaped Elena's eye because for the first time, she really felt as though everything was perfect when they clearly weren't. The song was slowly coming to an end and another one was about to start. However, just before letting go, Stefan whispered to Elena, "I'll sort everything out. I promise. I won't give up." This made Elena hold onto him even more tightly, if that was even possible, before letting go. All of a sudden, their surroundings came back to them and they quickly turned around to see Damon squinting at them confused with a dancing Caroline in his arms. Elena was relieved to see that Caroline hadn't seen what happened because she knew it would have torn her. She also knew that the only reason Caroline didn't see anything was because Damon was purposely dancing with her.

"Thank you," she mouthed at the oldest Salvatore. He nodded in return and then focused back on Caroline's dancing. The mood settled back down after a while. Stefan and Elena made sure to keep their distances. It wasn't as if anything had happened, but they could both feel the magnetic charge going on between them. They talked lightly until Damon looked at his watch and gasped slightly.

"'Lena, we better go. It's 1 in the morning," Damon said slightly shocked.

"What? No way! Then yeah, we better go," she replied. None of them had realized how fast time had gone.

"I should probably get going as well then," said Stefan. Damon looked at Stefan weirdly, he was sure that Stefan was meant to sleepover at Caroline's.

"I have to wake up early tomorrow and fix a few things around and about the house," he said as if he owed everybody an explanation.

"Of course, babe. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" answered Caroline without a hint of disappointment. Either she was good at hiding her emotions, or Stefan wasn't meant to sleep over in the first place Elena thought. But she knew her girl best friend too well, and she was being completely honest. Elena hugged both Stefan and Caroline goodbye and then headed to the car with Damon. As soon as they left Caroline's driveway, Damon cut straight to the chase.

"What the hell was that dancing with my brother?"

"I don't know. He was the one that came onto me," she said feeling slightly accused.

"You can't dance like that in front of Caroline."

"I know Damon, I know. It's not my plan either to do stuff behind her back. You know I'm not that kind of person. I thought you knew me better than that."

"I'm sorry 'Lena. I didn't mean to come out so angrily. It's just that I flipped out when I saw you two and I just didn't know what to do."

"You could have come between us," she suggested.

"No, I actually wanted you to have your little moment," he said and smirked. Elena hit his arm playfully. Soon enough they were at the Gilbert's house and Elena got out the car.

"Good night Damon, and thanks again for what you did."

"Night 'Lena. Next time however, be a little more careful."

That night, both Stefan and Elena went to sleep thinking about their little moment at Caroline's house. Stefan felt guilty though, for tagging Caroline along when he didn't want to be more than friends. She was his best friend, and to him that was more than enough coming from Caroline. Elena felt guilty herself for falling for her bestfriend's boyfriend. Nonetheless, they both fell asleep in their own houses with a smile on their faces.

**AN: I'm sorry if the writing was terrible ! Please review and just maybe it will make me feel better :**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Sorry for the late update.. I'll try hurry up next time but i've got so much to do recently it's hard to keep up.. Enjoy the chapter, and as always- please review :)**

Elena woke up on a Monday morning, but to her, it was just a day like any other since summer was still going on. What Elena really loved about this summer was that it was different from any other summer she spent in Mystic Falls. For the first time in a very long time, she felt included and accepted there. She didn't feel like she was the girl who comes back only for summer holidays. Elena knew that she had Caroline to thank for that. Caroline has been inviting her everywhere throughout the entire summer holiday. She made sure that Elena was having a good time wherever they went. Elena was glad that she had a friend like Caroline. Even if she and Stefan were still together and most probably having a great time, Elena was thankful that they were both in her life. Although Stefan told Elena that he was going to fix everything and that he wouldn't give up on them being together, he never mentioned when he was actually going to do anything. The day after that dinner? Today? This week? These holidays? This month? This year? No concrete answer. Elena just decided to let them be. She was tired of waiting for someone who didn't care about her as much as she cared about him. He said all of those things, but did he actually mean it or was it just so she wouldn't let her hopes down? She decided to just go with the flow, deal with things as they came along. Elena sighed heavily as her thoughts drifted back to the summer she was spending. She never had that much fun before in Mystic Falls. Everyday was different. She would literally come back from somewhere before her phone buzzed indicating her that she better be prepared in 20 minutes because they were heading somewhere else. With everything going on, she didn't realize how fast time was actually passing her by. For the first time in 10 years, she'll be one of the last ones to leave Mystic Falls. Usually, she's one of the firsts since school in Bulgaria always started so early. Not this time around though, since she finished school. Elena was going to Toronto in Canada to study psychology, and that was only in September. Caroline was leaving again for Australia in two weeks, as well as Damon. Only difference was that he was heading back to Switzerland. Jeremy was leaving for Bulgaria in a week while Stefan was leaving in a month to some place she had no idea since she never asked. Elijah was leaving in a month and a half and Elena was leaving a week before he was. Things were coming to an end way too fast. She wasn't ready to start saying her goodbyes, not after spending holidays like she just had. So far, they were unforgettable; she didn't have a trace of a doubt about it. It wasn't only the holidays that made her cringe the goodbyes, but it's also the fact that everyone is leaving one after the other. Elena was used to saying goodbye to everybody in one night and the next day she'd be gone. This time however, since she's one of the last ones in her group of friends to leave, she actually has to endure the goodbyes for over a month.

Elena signed as she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom she shared with Jeremy. Then it hit her- today they were celebrating her birthday. Her actual birthday wasn't until late-August, but since most of her friends would already be gone by then, she decided to celebrate it early. She wanted Damon, Jeremy and Caroline to be there. Alaric had agreed to help with everything. Her mood suddenly got lighter and the thought of goodbyes and the ending summer faded away. She quickly brushed her teeth and then stepped into her shower. She got out with a towel wrapped around herself and turned her computer on. She grabbed some clothes from her wardrobe and put them on. She was wearing mid-thigh brown shorts and a black tank top. It was going to be a busy day today setting everything up, so she might as well wear something she's comfortable in. By the time she was all dressed up, her computer was ready to be used. As usual, like most teenagers today, her first move was to log onto Facebook and read the newsfeed like it was her daily newspaper. She hated how addictive and revealing that website is. She had to admit though that it was probably the best way to keep in touch with your friends. You didn't necessarily have to write emails to each other to know how your friend was doing. You could determine all of that from the pictures they have recently been tagged in. Altering from emails, you could just simply write a couple of sentences on each other's wall and it would be enough to make the other person smile and feel loved. As soon as she had logged on, a pop-up chat message came. She only had to look at the name for her to have a smile on her face.

Stefan: tell me you're free this upcoming Wednesday and Thursday.

Elena: Wednesday I'm free. Thursday I've got an appointment in the morning but I'm free all afternoon.

Stefan: You suck

Elena: Whyyyyy ?

Stefan: I'm organizing a camping trip. But I guess you'll come next time then. :(

Elena: Can't you postpone it?!

Stefan: No :( Is there any chance you can come or should I give your place to someone else?

Elena: Let someone else take my place. But thanks Stef.

Stefan: Shame :(

Elena: If I didn't have that appointment I would have come- you know that. You're coming tonight right ?

Stefan: I forgot to tell you, but no. I can't. Sorry.

Elena: Excuse me?

Stefan: Of course I'm coming Lena. Don't be stupid; it's going to be huge.

Elena: :)

Stefan: I've got my cousin over at my house for a couple of weeks and would it bother you if he comes along?

Elena: Of course not. I mean, it's not a huge thing tonight, but still, the more the merrier :)

Stefan: Okay thanks. I somehow knew you'd understand ;)

Elena: Aren't you just the mind-reader? :P

Stefan: Hahaha. You're so sarcastic- I love it !

Elena: Hey Stef, I've got to get going. I need to get things ready for tonight. But I'll see you then :)

Stefan: See you then ;)

Elena quickly logged off before getting distracted any further from Facebook. Alaric was over at the Gilbert's house preparing and setting up. She told him multiple times that he didn't have to come over, but he insisted that she was like a daughter to him, so he wanted to make her 18th memorable even though she wanted to keep it simple. Caroline had proposed to help organize the event but Elena had to decline the offer. Truth be told, Caroline doesn't know how to keep things small when it comes down to parties. She was fine at handling small gatherings over dinner or whatever, but parties were usually just a whole other level. Elena went downstairs and joined Alaric and Jeremy in the kitchen. Alaric took one look at Elena's face before noticing that something wasn't quite right with her. He's gotten to know her quite well over the years and he started to read her like an open book.

"What's up?" he questioned.

"No, nothing. It's just that Stefan invited me to this camp thing he's doing. He literally invited everyone who's going to be here tonight, so all of my closest friends are going. However, I can't go because it's on the same day as my hairdressing appointment. So yeah, I can't go…" she repeated herself.

"You can't go because of a hairdresser, seriously?" Jeremy intervened. He couldn't believe his sister, missing out on a camp with friends because of a stupid hairdresser.

"It's not like that Jer. She's the kind of hairdresser you need to book 4 months before because she always overbooked. I was lucky to even have an appointment on such short notice… I can't cancel it."

"Whatever you say," he answered with a roll of his eyes before exiting the room.

"Elena, if you didn't have that hairdressing appointment, you know that you could have gone, right?" said Alaric trying to reason with her.

"Yeah, I know, I get it. No need to rub it in my face Ric. I get it," she answered annoyed at how much of a parent freak he was. She appreciated it but right now she just wished that she could go to that camp. It wasn't just because of Stefan, but because it would probably be the last time they all get to do something like this together before the end of the summer. Elena knew she was being a whinny teenager and she hated it. She walked up the stairs and flopped down onto her bed, face down and sighed. She heard Jeremy leave his room, but his footsteps weren't stomping away, instead it was coming towards her room. 'What do you _want?' _she thought.

"Text Stefan, tell him you're in for that camp thing he's got going on."

"Jer, I told you, I can't go. I have that hair…"

"Hairdressing appointment?" he interrupted her. "Yeah I know, and I took care of it. It so happens that she got a last minute cancellation, so she booked you in at that time- 1pm tomorrow. You're welcome."

Elena couldn't stop the smile from forming onto her face. She jumped off her bed and hugged Jeremy. She didn't let go of him for a while.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! How did you get her number?"

"Oh I got it from your phone, which I left in my room. Sorry."

"Gosh, don't apologise, it's fine. Why would you do that though?" she couldn't stop from asking.

"You're my sister. The question is why wouldn't I do that?" Jeremy lifted his sister's head up and looked at her straight in the eyes. "I've never seen you have so much fun before. You're always out and about and you have this constant smile on your face. I want to make sure you enjoy every moment of what's remaining of our summer."

Elena hugged her brother again.

"Now, text or call him before he gives your spot to someone else," he said and left the room. Without hesitation, she picked up her house phone and dialed Stefan's number. She knew it by heart but would never admit that to anyone. It rang 4 times before he answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Stef, it's Elena. I'm using my house phone," she answered. "Ummmm, about that camping thing, did you already give my spot to someone else?" she asked hoping that he would say 'no'.

"No, not yet actually. Tell me you managed to figure something out and you can come," he replied. Elena could hear the excitement in his voice. She could almost sense his smile as well.

"YES! Jeremy managed to free me. So I'm coming!" she replied trying to and failing to contain her enthusiasm.

"That's awesome 'Lena! Remind me to thank him and treat him like a God when I see him tonight."

Elena giggled. "I'll remind you. Thanks for everything. I'll see you tonight."

"See you tonight."

"See you tonight 'Lena." Elena ended the call with a smile. She couldn't feel that way about Stefan, she knew that but she couldn't control herself either. Elena got back downstairs with her smile still plastered onto her face. Alaric looked at her before returning her contagious smile.

"There's that smile. Jer told me the news. I'm glad you can go."

"So am I. What time is it by the way?"

"Quarter past 6" he answered matter-of-factly.

"Oh crap! People are coming at half-seven. I don't have enough time to get ready!"

"An hour and fifteen minutes isn't enough? What the hell do you need all this time for?"

"1) Showering. 2) Choosing what I'm going to wear. 3) Trying it on and rejecting it. 4) Repeat number 3 four more times. 5) Make-up and 6) Hairstyle. Total amount of time: at _least_ 2 hours Ric," she explained while counting off all the steps onto her fingers.

"That's ridiculous," he answered before smiling. She left the room running back upstairs into her room already in the process of taking her shirt off in order to gain some time, at least that was her logic.

Elena tried to hurry up but with difficulty. She stood in front of her wide open wardrobe for a good 10 minutes before setting for white trousers and a multi-coloured top. She was about to check the time when she realized that Jeremy still had her phone. She left her room and barged into her brother's room.

"Please tell me you're not wearing that," he commented.

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's your 18th, Elena. Wear a dress or something, you've got plenty of other occasions to wear trousers. Besides, you got good legs. Before you start commenting, as a brother, I'm allowed to say that. Aunt Jenna gave you that red dress for Christmas; wear that. And since you're tanned, it's going to look really good on you.."

"Since when did you become such a girl?"

"Hey, as a brother, it's my duty to make sure you don't embarrass me by wearing hideous clothes. I also like it when my sister looks good," he added.

Elena eyed him suspiciously before going back to her room to change. She found the dress Jeremy was talking about and she slipped it on. The length was just above her knees and the straps crossed on her upper back. It hugged her in all the right places and someone could easily think that it was tailored for her specifically. Satisfied with what she as wearing, she applied a slight bit of make-up on. Mascara, eye shadow, eyeliner, blush and a bit of lipstick did the trick. She let her hair dry naturally resulting into curls. She tied the top half of her hair in a lose bun while the bottom half was just flowing over her shoulders and back. She could hear Jeremy and Alaric getting agitated downstairs; bringing the food on the tables, making sure that there is enough to drink and installing the music. She quickly glanced at her phone: 7:30pm sharp. People would start to arrive anytime now. She switched the light from her room off and made her way down to the ground floor. Just as she reached the landing, both men turned around and stared. Jeremy had a goofy smile on his face and Alaric was just speechless. Elena just stared back at them both not knowing what to say. Alaric then walked towards and hugged her.

"I couldn't be more proud of calling you my daughter," he whispered to her and in response she hugged him even more tightly and trying with all her might not to tear up.

"Thank you," she whispered back. As the let go, Jeremy just looked at his sister and smiled wider, 'she truly is beautiful' he thought.

The moment came to an end when the doorbell rang indicating that the first guest had arrived. Elena was about to open the door when Alaric said, "Enjoy your night, Elena. And Happy Early Birthday."

**AN: I know, I know- it was a crap filler chapter but i HAD to post something, I couldn't keep you from waiting too long. Hopefully next chapter will be better ! :) BTW- her hair style for her birthday is like the one she had during the party in episode 4x04 ! It suited her really well :)**

**Love y'all**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Another update ! I hope you enjoy it and that i haven't lost your interest..**

Caroline was the first to arrive at Elena's get together. She wanted to make sure that everything was in the correct place and that there was enough drinks and food for everyone that will be coming. Elena made it clear that she could handle it, but Caroline wanted to see for herself. She looked at the dinning room table that was covered in food. In the corner of the room, there was a barrel full of drinks and ice. Glasses were available on the side. Even the porch outside was available and had a couple of tables with food. She ended up in the kitchen where there was even more available in case it ran out.

"Huh, so you _can_ pull off a party afterwards," concluded Caroline with a smile on her face, obviously proud of her friend.

"I told you Care, it's not a party, it's just a get together, " responded Elena.

"Same diff, whatsoever. So, are you excited?" the blonde asked. Elena couldn't help sustain a smile. After all everyone was coming to celebrate her 18th, it should definitely be worth it. Before she could even respond Caroline kept on talking, "Oh. My. God. I met Nathan this morning. He's such a cutie and just so sweet!"

"Woah, wait! Who's Nathan?" Elena asked.

"He's Damon and Stefan's cousin. He's staying over for 2 weeks," she said before hesitating, "Stefan told you right?"

"Oh yeah," she said remembering the conversation she had with Stefan in the morning. "Stefan asked if he could come tonight and I said yes. I couldn't leave the unknown guy alone at that massive boarding house by himself knowing that we're going to have a good time here, or at least I hope."

"Awww, always so considerate," mocked Caroline and Elena rolled her eyes in response.

By 8 o'clock, Tyler, Matt, Rebekkah, Katherine and Bonnie had arrived as well as a few others. The house was slowly filling up and the mood of everyone was just getting better. Slightly later, Elena opened the door to Elijah.

"Happy early birthday beautiful," he said while picking her up in his embrace and twirling her. He handed her a small gift and she smiled.

"Thanks Elijah. Food is on the table and drinks are in the corner. Make yourself at home," she responded while quickly going upstairs to drop her gift on her bed with the rest of them. She didn't want to open them now, she wanted to wait until it was quite and she could actually appreciate what hr friends gave her. She scribbled Elijah's name on the wrapper before putting it down on her bed. It was a known fact that she would forget who gave her what if she didn't write the name on the wrapper. She made her way back downstairs and realized that he hardly saw Alaric or Jeremy since people had arrived, only a few glimpses. Alaric had invited just 2 of his friends so he wouldn't be lonely and Elena was more than okay with it. After all, he was like her second father. It was already 8:30 and there was no sign of any Salvatore. She figured they must have run into something but she really didn't mind. Stefan had a reputation to usually be late at events; it was his 'thing'. However, everyone forgave him because that was who he was, it was just a part of him. If anything happened the usual answer from someone would be: 'oh don't worry, it's Stefan.' People just get used to it. Soon enough, Elena saw headlights come into the driveway and that could only mean it was them. Although the living room was packed, she knew that Damon, Stefan and Unknown Nathan were the only ones missing. She heard a couple of car doors close and in a minute Stefan was stepping onto the porch with someone following close behind. Elena went on the porch to meet him and as soon as he saw her he smiled. He couldn't help but notice how good she looked in her red dress, beautiful even. They hugged quickly and then he said:

"Happy birthday 'Lena. I'm really sorry I don't have anything to give you. I'm so so sorry…."

"It's fine. You're here, that's all that matters," Elena cut him. She immediately thought of what people usually said 'oh don't worry, it's Stefan' and it made her smile.

"Um, this is Nathan. Nate, this is Elena, the birthday girl," introduced Stefan.

Nathan walked up to Elena and without even waiting to get to know her better, he took her in his arms and hugged her. "Happy Birthday Elena." After he released her, Elena was unsure how to react.

"Thanks… Nathan," she said and chuckled a little. Caroline wasn't kidding when she said Nathan was a cutie. He was about the same height as Stefan , he had curly brown hair and he had a side smile just like Damon. If Elena didn't know any better, she could easily say that he was another brother. He was actually a mixture of both Damon and Stefan. "Well guys, drinks and food are inside in the dinning room, help yourself," she said to stop herself from staring. They were about to leave when Elena called after Stefan.

"Stef, where's Damon?"

"Oh, he was taking forever in his shower, so we left without him. But he'll be here in a matter of minutes. Don't worry; he wouldn't miss this for the world. You're his best friend and I think he would never forgive himself for missing it."

Elena giggled at Stefan's explanation.

"Alright, thanks. Enjoy tonight," she answered quickly. Stefan left her on the porch, she was about to take some food when she could feel someone staring at her. She turned to the side and sure enough Nathan was looking at her with a smile. Elena raised her eyebrows with an amused expression on her face. He started walking up to her.

"I'm sorry for intruding on your birthday party Elena," he said and she could see that he really meant it. He wasn't using it just to start a conversation with her.

"Don't worry about it Nathan, I'm glad you came," she answered and gave him a genuine smile.

He quickly glanced around before saying, "You've got a beautiful home," he commented.

"So now you're trying to gain points by complimenting my house. Alright, I see how this works," she said and couldn't stop a giggle from escaping her mouth.

Nathan nudged her with his elbow "That truly wasn't my intention," he defended himself.

"Sure it wasn't," she replied in a heartbeat.

"Fine. Game on. Elena Gilbert," he answered with a slight smile at the corner of his lips. They eventually stopped teasing each other and fell into an easy conversation. Elena noticed how sweet and funny Nathan really was. She could easily befriend him and spend time with him. Stefan was standing on the other side of the room talking to Caroline, Tyler and Matt but he kept on glancing at Elena every so often. He quickly looked outside the window and saw that Damon had finally decided to make an appearance. He felt somewhat relieved. It meant that Elena would have to stop talking to Nathan in order to welcome Damon. He shouldn't think like that, but he didn't like the idea of Nathan and Elena getting close to each other. Damon and Elena, he could cope, they were best friend since forever, but Nate and Elena; that was a different story.

Elena hadn't noticed that Damon had arrived as not only her back was towards the front door but Jeremy had started to play music which was drowning out any sound coming from outside. She was still talking to Nate when she felt two strong arms circling her waist from behind and a kiss on her cheek. Elena smiled knowing that it could only be Damon, he was the only one that ever did that to her. She turned around in his embrace and returned his hug by throwing her hands around his neck.

"Happy Birthday gorgeous," he said. It made her smile, she loved it whenever Elijah or Damon called her that or 'Beautiful'. Stefan who was still staring kind of chuckled when he saw Nate's face. He decided to make his way over because he knew that the conversation was bound to get interesting. He came just in time to hear Nate ask them "You two a thing?"

"I would be the luckiest man if she was mine, but sadly no. She's the best friend in the world though," answered Damon and put his arm around her shoulder pulling her in while she circled his waist with both arms. Stefan thought he imagined it, but he was pretty sure that he saw Damon quickly glance his way when he said 'if she was mine'. He was sure he imagined it because it didn't make any sense to him.

The night went on and eventually Jeremy started playing dancing music. Everyone pushed the couches, sofas, chairs and tables to the side to create a 'dance floor'. Elena was having a really good time but she was unsure whether the others were having as much fun. She saw Nate a few more times and really appreciated his presence. He was a pleasant guy, just like his cousins Stefan and Damon. He came up to her and handed her a drink. She accepted and then heard him say "Just gaining points". Elena laughed out loud and put her two hands together, one slightly higher than the other.

"This," she said shaking the higher hand, "is the amount of points that I've got and this," she continued by shaking the lower hand slightly, "is the amount of points you've got. The only reason I've got more is because you're at my house." Nate laughed out loud before nodding his head.

"I'm sure I'll catch up pretty soon."

"Whatever makes you sleep at night."

A few people came to join the conversation and Elena eventually zoned out. She decided to take a beat from all the noise inside and went to sit on the steps to her porch. Everyone had moved inside, so it was a nice peaceful place to sit and think. She heard footsteps behind her and turned around to see Stefan coming to sit by her.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's just that I hope everyone is having a good time. I'm worried they're not."

"Look inside through the windows," he commanded her. She did as she was told and she could some of her friends dancing, others getting drinks and laughing with other people while others were stuffing their faces with food. "Your party sucks, everyone is having a shit time 'Lena," he concluded. He saw a smile creep upon her lips and he gently bumped his knee to hers. "You've got nothing to worry about. Everyone is having a really good time. The food is amazing, the drinks seem as though they're never going to run out and the music is just the best. Stop worrying."

"Don't you remember, I worry too much, I over think things," she replied remembering the conversation they had at the beginning of the summer where she thought she had forced him to dance. That was also the first time he and Caroline got together for the summer.

"That's right, it's contagious. You got it from me," he recalled. Elena giggled and was actually surprised that he remembered the conversation as well. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Stefan suddenly asked, "How do you do it, 'Lena?"

"Do what?" she asked confused.

"Have a best friend and not screw it up," he explained. Elena knew what he was hinting at- Caroline and him. Elena quickly put the pieces together: being in a relationship with Caroline was not his choice, but hers. She suddenly understood that he had no say in the matter.

"I don't know Stef. I mean, I grew up with both Damon and Elijah and going any further is just plain weird for us. I've never imagined kissing either of them. To be honest, I'm grossed out by the idea," she replied and Stefan chuckled.

"You seem so at ease with them as if you don't have a care in the world," he said.

"Because I don't," she simply answered. "With them I can be myself and not care what they think. I know that they like me for who am I. I don't have to try to please them or do things that will make me seem better. They're the big brothers I never had. I know I can talk to them about anything anytime. They're there to listen and not give me life lectures about everything. But you should know, it's not something that I take for granted. It took us literally a life time to build this friendship and so far, it seems unbreakable."

"I bet it is unbreakable. I'm not going to lie, Elena, I'm jealous. I want to have a friend to be there for me but also to just remain a friend, you know what I mean," he asked.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Those types of friendships don't just appear out of nowhere Stefan, you have to work at it. I've fought millions of times with either Damon or Elijah but we always make it up and it's as if nothing ever happened."

"I see you and Damon or you and Elijah and it just seems so natural. Like earlier when Damon hugged you from behind while you were talking to Nate and how you responded. I mean, how do you not get emotionally attached, as in more than friendship wise?"

"I don't know. I guess it's just something you get used to. I got used to Damon and Elijah treating me like their little sister and any further would seem wrong."

"Yeah, it's just so complicated," he finally said. He let out a deep sigh before going on, "Okay, I'm done trying to pretend that there's nothing and I'm not going to lie to you. I want to be with you Elena and I can't. I don't know how to fix things either. Caroline is an amazing girl, I love her, but not in the way she wants me to. I love her as my best friend. She's leaving in 2 weeks and I can't just dump her right before she heads back to Australia for her second year. I'm not going to pretend either that I haven't noticed Nate's eyes on you throughout the entire night. He obviously knows you're single, an amazing person and just perfect. I want to be able to come talk to you and hug you and not feel guilty or have that nagging voice in my head telling me that I'm crossing the friendship line. I want to just sit with you in a comfortable silence and hold you hand and…"

"Stop. Just stop," Elena interrupted. She thought her heart was going to explode with everything that he just told her. She never knew how strong he felt for her, because at one point she truly did believe that he might have lead her on. "I can't have you tell me those things and then see you with Caroline. It's painful, because as much as it makes me happy to hear you say that or how I'm dying to repeat those words to you, I'm not. The reason being that Caroline is my best friend and you can't treat her like that. She loves you, and you obviously love her too, but for some reason you're not going to admit it."

"Remember when I told you there was something stopping me from going ahead with my relationship with Caroline?"

"Yeah, I vaguely remember. Why?"

"Because I figured out what it was. I figured out what was stopping me from going ahead with her. However, I decided to go for it anyways and now I regret it, all of it."

"Why? What was the thing stopping you Stefan?"

"You. I had unresolved feelings for you when I dated Caroline. I'm sure you know that saying from almightly Johnny Depp. The one that goes something like 'if you love two people at the same time, choose the second one because if you really loved the first one you wouldn't have fallen for the second one.' I realized that I fell for Caroline after everything that happened between us, so I chose her. God, I could _not_ have made a bigger mistake. Don't get me wrong Elena, I know that what I'm doing to Caroline is not right but I can't just leave her, not yet anyways. And I definitely don't want you to wait because that would just be selfish of me and just not worthy. To be honest, considering what I'm doing right now, I'm not worthy to be with anyone."

"Stefan, thank you for telling me everything. You know what? Things that are meant to happen will eventually take its course. So let it go, let things happen, go with the flow. Do what you have to do. Okay?"

"How can you be so calm and considerate about this?" he asked and he truly admired her for it.

"Getting angry or upset isn't going to change the facts or situation. It's a way of seeing things," she answered and smiled warmly at him.

"Elena, it's your birthdaaaaaay," came Caroline's slurred voice from inside indicating that she was well and beyond drunk. "Stop talking and come daaaannnncccceeee." She didn't give Elena and chance to answer that she was already pulling her to her feet and dragging her onto the dancefloor. The music was a real success. Jeremy knew the perfect songs to play and in what order. Since Caroline dragged her onto the 'dancefloor' in her living room, she didn't leave it once. Next to her were Elijah and Matt. She quickly scanned the room to see who else were still dancing before returning her focus to her two friends but noticed that someone else had joined, Stefan. He was looking in her direction and as soon as Elena made eye contact, he smiled. He stepped to the beat towards her while she was stepping back. They didn't touch each other but it was as though they both knew the choreograph to their unknown dance. They felt as thought they were in their own world. They were dancing to their own rhythm and no one else existed. Elena couldn't take it anymore and broke her gaze. She couldn't handle the fact that he was right there in front of her and she couldn't do anything. As soon as Elena glanced away, the spell was broken. Stefan turned around and walked towards the middle of the dance floor. Elena felt odd all of a sudden without his presence but she knew she had to put a good face on. She couldn't let others know that she cared about Stefan. Caroline could definitely not know. Elena would never try do anything with Stefan as long as he was with her best friend- it was a firm line that she would never cross. Damon, as always, spotted the little scene. He also knew that her face wasn't a natural smile but rather a forced one. She was biting her lips more than usual. He knew that face and knew she was about to lose it. He came onto the dancefloor and wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder.

"It's safe to cry now 'Lena," he whispered in her ear. In a matter of seconds, Elena was sobbing onto her best friend's shoulder.

**AN: I hope you liked the chapter.. As always, please leave your reviews- they make me smile.**

**In case you wanted to know: The chapter where Stelena talks about worrying too much is the 10th one and the one where he talks about 'something stopping him from moving forward with Caroline' is Chapter 8**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Before starting off this new chapter.. I'd like to give all the credits to teresa. nguyen.165 for giving me the idea of introducing 'Nate' into the story ! :) A huge thank you goes to you !  
And of course, another thank you goes to all of you who takes not only the time to read my story, but to review it as well ! :D**

Elena woke up the next day with red and puffy eyes. She hated the fact that Damon had given her the opportunity of being weak instead of telling her to suck it up and enjoy the night. Don't get her wrong, she did enjoy her night- immensely. Right until Stefan decided to pour his heart out on the porch. She didn't understand why he decided to do that- was it because he had a couple of drinks and he felt confident enough to talk to her about it? Or was it because he genuinely wanted to talk to her and to get things off of his chest? Elena got out of bed and took a quick shower before making her ways downstairs. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was surprised to see how clean the house was, as if nothing had happened last night. She heard some rattling coming from the kitchen and so decided to go see who was there. She entered the room and saw Jeremy and Elijah sitting at the island table and stuffing their faces with fried eggs on toast.

"Morning 'Lena," they both said simultaneously as they saw her enter the kitchen.

"Morning boys. When did you get in Elijah?" she asked.

"Roughly 15 minutes ago. I wanted to see how you were doing," he said before giving her a warm smile indicating that he knew the situation she was in.

"Oh I'm fine. Slightly hungover though," she said and chuckled. They both knew that they would talk about it later, when they were alone. "Jer, did you clean up the house?" she asked her brother.

"Yeah, Alaric was in as well this morning. We wanted to clean everything up before you woke up. Kind of like a birthday present since we didn't give you anything yesterday," he answered sheepishly.

"You guys! Thank you, but I could have at least helped. And yesterday wasn't my actual birthday, I was just celebrating it. Now I feel so helpless," she said and chuckled slightly.

"Good. That's how you're meant to feel," answered the youngest Gilbert with a smile on his face.

Elena drank coffee while the boys were eating their breakfast. They started talking about the night before and the different things that happened. The hook-ups, the drunkards and the ones who ate all the time- the usual after party talk. They stayed there for a good half hour until Jeremy decided to go to his room and finish a drawing he started a couple of days ago. Elijah and Elena were left alone in the kitchen and they decided to use that time to have an actual talk. They haven't had one since she left for Mystic Falls. Damon always seems to have heard most of her drama these holidays. Elijah reached across the table and took Elena's hands in his.

"How are you? Really? And don't you dare play the 'I'm fine' card with me. You know that it doesn't work," he said and Elena smiled.

"Well that's the only thing that can describe how I'm actually feeling," she answered and attempted a laugh. "I mean, Stefan poured his heart out and I just listened and probably didn't respond the way he wanted me to. I didn't jump in his arms or whatsoever, instead I interrupted him and told him to stop. There's only so much you can listen to. Right?"

"You're the judge of that 'Lena. You're the only one who can handle how much you can take. It might be too soon for you to open up and to talk about it. But know that I'll always be here Elena," Elijah said. He knew her like the back of his hand. He knew she wasn't ready to talk about the events that happened with Stefan last night. As the days go by and when she would have come to terms with what he told her, she'd eventually want to talk about it to someone.

"Thank you," was all that Elena answered. Elijah gave a nod before making his way to the door. "I'll see you around okay?" he said before picking her off the floor into a tight hug.

Elena went back into the kitchen and cleaned the plates, pan and mug. Barely fifteen minutes later, the front door burst open and a devastated Caroline barged in. One look at her and Elena knew there was some serious girl drama. Caroline walked into the kitchen with tears streaming down her face.

"I broke up with him, 'Lena. I broke up with!" she repeated. Elena felt like someone had hit her stomach. She couldn't quite process what Caroline was telling her. She couldn't bear to see her best friend in so much pain either. She quickly crossed the room and encircled Caroline. She started to sob harder onto Elena's shoulder and her entire body shook at each intake of a breath.

"Alright, go to my room. I'll bring hot chocolate up," said Elena and Caroline nodded.

Elena quickly boiled some water and then made two huge mugs of hot chocolate. It was Caroline's drink whenever things weren't right. She walked up the stairs and into her room to see Caroline wrapped up in her blanket still sobbing. Elena handed her a mug that she gratefully accepted. She sat down next to her friend and patiently waited for her to start. If there was anything that Elena learnt from Damon and Elijah was that the person in need should always start the conversation first. They would start talking when they're ready to. Asking them about it would make them feel forced into telling you making them feel vulnerable even further.

"This morning, I broke up with him," Caroline repeated once more. Elena gave a weak smile and nodded telling Caroline that she was listening. "I know I shouldn't have, but I just couldn't do it anymore. Every time I looked at him, the only thing I could think about was the fact that we would be separated in a couple of weeks. What's the point of being with someone knowing that the time you've got left together is limited?"

"You enjoy every single moment you spend together, Care. Even then, you don't have to break up, you can still be in a relationship. Even a distant one," replied Elena trying to soothe Caroline's pain.

"I never believed in those kind of relationships. Yeah, you get to Skype everyday, but it's not the same as being together. I regret my decision _so_ much, but it's probably for the best. That way, we both get used to being around each other but not being together. I mean, it would suck if we broke up on my last day in Mystic Falls and then see each other again in a year and not know where we stand," Caroline explained. Elena understood where she was coming from, but she still couldn't help but feel hurt for Caroline. They were an amazing couple, and know things are bound to get awkward.

"I'm not going to go to that camping trip that Stefan had planned," said Caroline.

"No, Care! You've got to come. Everyone's going to be there. A chance for all of us to be together one last time before we each start to leave to different countries."

"I can't bring myself to face him again Lena. It's too soon," admitted Caroline.

Elena took Caroline's hand in both of her own. "You're going to have to face him sooner or later, Care. At that camp there's going to be another 15 of us, so it's not going to be only you and him. Everyone is going to be there. Please?"

Caroline hesitated a little bit before finally answering, "Fine! But I'm doing this for you. I'm doing this because you want me to go and because…"

"And because you secretly want to go as well," finished Elena. She saw Caroline smirk and knew she was right. "Come here, " Elena said and she embraced her friend.

Caroline left soon after saying that now that she's definitely going, she has to go back. Elena's phoned buzzed- an incoming call from Elijah.

"Hey Elijah, what's up?" she greeted him.

""Hey Lena. Just wondering, are you going to that camp thing Stefan is throwing?"

"Yeah I am. Why?" she asked curiously.

"Because I don't want to go if you're not going. I know- everyone is going to be there, but you're my best friend. You need to be there too."

Elena smiled at his response. He was the sweetest best friend anyone could ask for.

"What about Damon though," she askd.

"Can't come. It's his last week and so he wants to do a couple more things," explained Elijah. "I tried convincing him and told him that everyone would be there and all. Nothing to do. His answer was: 'it's just a couple of days out, and I could do so much then. You guys go and have a good time.' He did insist on giving details afterwards though. Such a girl!" he continued.

Elena chuckled slightly before concluding, "well yeah, I'm going to the camp thing, and so are you!"

"Sure thing. See you Lena!" he said before the phone went dead.

A couple of days later, everyone was more than excited to go on that trip. They were all at the Salvatore Boarding house packing the last few things in the car. 2 cars were available for the group; one was driven by Stefan and the other by Tyler. Since only half of the original group was able to make it, they ended up being about only 10. They split the group in 2 and the drive started. Stefan and Damon's parents owed a camping house in the woods not to far away from town. Elena never went there, but apparently it was the cutest house ever built. . They house was located far enough to feel as if nothing else existed in the world, but close enough to head back to Mystic Falls if an emergency occurs. The drive was about 2 hours and they were more than excited when they reached their destination. The house was just large enough to fit everyone in. It was so simple, yet they had all the basic needs. It was a wooden house with a small kitchen, a room with a long dinning table, a small bathroom and a big empty room. A porch gave a view on the valley in front. The view was breathtaking. You could see as far as your eyes allowed you and the air was just so fresh! Elena leaned on the small wooden railing that was on the edge of the porch and took in the sight.

"Quite a view, isn't it?" she heard Stefan say.

"It's incredible. To think that a place like this exists just outside of Mystic Falls is unbelievable."

"I usually come here when I need some time alone."

"I wouldn't blame you. I would probably come hide out here all the time if I were you," she answered and he chuckled.

The rest of the group slowly started to join them and the conversation just ended. Stefan wished the moment had lasted longer, but he was still thankful for even talking to her a little bit.

Everyone dumped their bags and sleeping bags in the empty room. They all scattered on the porch, in chairs, on the small wall surrounding the house or on the floor to eat the packed lunch that they all brought. No one said a word as they dug in their food. When everyone was done Stefan suddenly said, "Who's up for a walk?" Everyone eagerly agreed. Although they were all full and tired, the place was too beautiful not to be explored.

They all stayed together as they climbed up a hill. As it was raining the previous night, the dirt was replaced by mud and it made the climb harder than it should be. However, they were all in a good mood and were helping each other up. Caroline was trying to avoid Stefan, but good nature as he is, he talked to her a few times to see how she was doing. Elena smiled because Stefan really was out of the ordinary. Caroline broke up with him, and instead of being macho about it; he went to talk to her to make things more comfortable. They talked for a while and even managed to make Caroline smile. Elena knew that deep down, they would always have a place for each other in their hearts. Maybe that place was just for friendship, but it was still there. As the sun was setting, they decided to go back to camp. The lightning was becoming edgy and Elena couldn't see where she was placing her feet anymore. She stepped on a loose stone and landed on her back. The mud didn't help the situation. As she was about to get back up, her feet slipped on more time making her slide down the path a little further. A sharp rock planted itself on the bottom of her left palm and set a deep gash all the way to the base of her fingers. She didn't feel any pain, but she could see her blood oozing out and getting mixed with the mud. All she could manage to do was laugh at how clumsy she was. The rest of the group who watched it all happen and had no idea how to react burst out laughing with her. Elena stayed sitting down in the mud for a good five minutes laughing while the others were bending over gasping for air as they continued to crack up. They were all replaying the scene in their heads, which set out a new round of laughter. After a while Matt stopped laughing and gave his hand out to Elena. She clung onto it as she got up and was extra careful were she placed her foot. They got to camp a lot faster than when they were climbing. Elena closed her left hand and winced slightly. She felt the pain for the first time since the incident.

"You should probably get that cleaned," Elijah said. "Come on." He lead her to the kitchen and turned on the cold water. Elena hesitated before putting her hand under the gushing water. Just as the water made contact with her wound, she retreated her hand from the pain.

"I know, it's going to hurt like a bitch Lena, but you've got to get the mud out. It can easily get infected. Ready?" asked Elijah and Elena nodded. She felt someone on her right. She turned around and saw Stefan standing just beside her. He read the pain in her face as Elijah put her hand under the water. He stepped forward encircling one arm around her waist while the other was held out for her to cling onto it. Elena held his hand and channeled all the pain into her grasp.

"There are tiny rocks in there 'Lena. I've got to get it out," said Elijah not giving her a chance to respond before he started to play with her hand trying to get it out. Elena let go of Stefan's hand and encircled his waist instead. She hid her face in his chest and clenched his shirt every now and then. Both of Stefan's arms were around her now and he was gently rubbing her back.

"He's nearly got it all out 'Lena. It's nearly done," he reassured her. She just nodded and tightened her arm around his waist. After what seemed to be an eternity, Elena felt Stefan's arm loosen around her and Elijah rinsed her hand.

"All done. We brought a First Aid kit, we'll bandage it up for you," said Elijah as he smiled at his best friend.

"Thanks."

Five minutes later, her hand was bandaged up and all three of them went out on the porch to join the others. Some were playing beer pong already while others were just talking in a circle.

"So did our warrior survive?" asked Nate as he saw Elena and he grinned widely.

"Minus 5 points for your sarcasm. And yes, I'm fine," she answered with a smile playing at her lips. She sat down next to him and he looked at her bandaged hand. She couldn't straighten her fingers, as the pain would shoot up through her arms. She realized though that what used to be a white bandage already had stains of blood on it.

"How deep was is?" asked Nate concerned.

"Pretty deep. It's okay. I'll survive," replied Elena. Stefan was sitting opposite them and hadn't missed anything from their interaction. He hated the way Nate looked at Elena like she was a prize instead of someone with countless qualities.

"Nate, up for a beer pong game?" Stefan interrupted and wasn't planning on taking 'No' as an answer.

**AN: I know it's a bit of a filler chapter, but I felt like I had to update. With everything that's happening on the show, my Stelena heart is slowly starting to fall into pieces! **


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Sorry for the long wait but here's an update. I hope you enjoy it and as always: Read and Review :)**

The night went on and it was such a calm and relaxing one compared to the other ones so far. Instead of everyone drinking and getting ready to party, everyone was just talking and relaxing. Yes, people were drinking, but not in a way as to be completely drunk. When Nate left with Stefan to play beer pong, Elena noticed Caroline sitting on the double chair opposite her alone. Elena got up and joined her best friend.

"Everything okay?" Elena asked.

"Yeah", she answered and gave Elena a wide smile. "I'm just enjoying the moment. Thanks for telling me to come. Tonight is so different than what I was expecting! I was expecting people to keep on drinking as if their liver wouldn't suffer but instead everyone is just so relaxed. Yeah, there are a few tipsy people, including myself, but nothing harmful. Right?"

Elena laughed, "No, nothing harmful."

A few hours later, there was some music playing in the background and the beer pong was still going on. Everyone was more or less tipsy but others had stopped drinking completely.

"Who's up for a paired beer-pong?" asked Tyler to the entire group. "Care, would you like to be my partner?"

"Sure, but I can't aim at all," answered the blonde, giggling slightly. The alcohol had affected her a little bit more than she had wished for, but Caroline was a funny drunk, so everyone was okay with it.

"Elena?" came Stefan's voice- he was standing by the beer pong table already. Elena shivered slightly just by hearing him say her name in his deep and charming voice.

"Sure," she answered before making her way to him. He welcomed her by discretely putting his arm around her waist and holding her. She crossed her arms over her stomach and accidently placed her hand on top of his on her waist. She was about to pull away when he intertwined their fingers and gently squeezed it. Elena felt butterflies in her stomach and she was sure that he could feel her heartbeat picking up. She felt as if her heart was beating in her entire body, not just in her chest. She casually leaned back into Stefan's chest and he squeezed her hand once more. It just felt so natural to the both of them. Elena couldn't see Stefan's face, but he was hoping that she knew that he was smiling. What none of them knew, however, was that Elijah was in the corner, watching it all. He was the only one who saw their intertwined fingers on Elena's waist. He smiled to himself, because just like Damon, he wanted Elena and Stefan to be happy and together.

Caroline and Tyler made their way to the table and went on the opposing side. Stefan and Elena let go of each other reluctantly and he stepped forward for the first shot. He got the ball in a cup and Tyler drank it. Caroline was throwing next and she missed by an inch.

"You're not as bad as you said you were," commented Tyler.

"Lucky shot," she answered and laughed. Although Caroline and Stefan had broken up, the four best friends, Matt, Tyler, Caroline and Stefan still hung out without everything being awkward. Elena who was pretending to be focused on getting her shot in one of the cups couldn't help but notice that maybe, just maybe, Tyler had a soft spot for Caroline. I mean, who wouldn't? She's funny, optimistic, full of life and simply just a great person. Elena smiled to herself before shooting and dropping the ball in the furthest cup on the right.

"Nice shot, Gilbert," Tyler said before handing the cup to Caroline. When Tyler was a little tipsy, he never called anyone by their first names. It always made everyone smile and it somehow also sets a mood.

"Why were you smiling just before throwing the ball?" whispered Stefan. "What? Smiling? No, nothing. I was just concentrating," she said feigning innocence.

"Good one. We'll talk later," he said just as he caught Tyler's ball making Tyler himself drink a cup.

"Salvatore, come on!" said Tyler before gulping down his cup. Stefan laughed out loud and gave a charismatic smile to Tyler. Elena couldn't help but stare and the beauty standing next to her. His smile always touched his eyes, making him look truly happy.

A good fifteen minutes later, Elena and Stefan had 3 full cups left while Caroline and Tyler had none.

"Gilbert. Salvatore. Round two later. 'No' is not an option," ordered Tyler before laughing at his own attempted joke.

"Sure thing man," answered Stefan and unconsciously scratched the back of his head. Elena had left his side and was sitting next to Nate talking to him in an animated way. Whatever she was saying, Nate found it funny because he couldn't stop laughing. Stefan himself smiled because that's what Elena does to him.

"You're going to stand here and watch her, or actually go talk to her?" Elijah asked Stefan. Stefan gasped a little bit, as he didn't expect anyone to notice him. He was in the kitchen, pretending to put chips in a bowl but also looking at Elena through the window that gave view to the veranda.

"Well, she seems to be enjoying Nate's company," Stefan answered.

"Stefan, she met Nate just a couple of weeks ago. She can have guy friends you know," Elijah said and chuckled slightly.

"I know. Given the fact that you and Damon are her best guy friends." Stefan and Elijah always got along really well. They never talk much, but when they do, they knew that they could talk about anything. They trust each other about more or less everything.

"Don't be stupid Stef. You know the kind of girl she is and just think about everything that has happened since you saw her for the first last holiday- New Years?"

"She told you everything, didn't she?" he asked Elijah and raised one of his eyebrows.

"It was written all over her face that something had happened with someone when she came. I guessed the what, she told me the who."

Stefan chuckled before saying ,"I messed up pretty badly, didn't i?"

"Yep. Yeah, you did. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to lie about it," answered Elijah being completely honest.

"No, I don't expect you to. Things got out of control with Caroline and I just didn't know what to do. I mean, now things seem to be better. We're not together anymore but it's not awkward either."

"I'm glad that things are somehow getting sorted out," said Elijah.

"Elijah, I know you saw Elena and I 'holding hands' by the beer pong table", Stefan said and glanced over at Elijah. He chuckled once and then nodded.

"Yeah, that was quite cute, very discrete. Stefan , I say you go talk to her. I'll even lure her away from Nate if you want," he added and smiled. It was Stefan's turn to laugh.

"I'll go talk to her later. Nate is just a guy friend right?" he said smiling before heading back outside with a bowl of chips.

By now quite a few people went to bed already, there was about 5 people remaining and they were all more or less past tipsy.

"What took you so long Stefan, did you drown in the chips?" asked Caroline trying not to slur her words. She was sitting next to Tyler and he had his arms around her shoulder.

"Just got talking with Elijah," he answered calmly. As he said that, he noticed Elena give a questioning look to Elijah and he shook his head in response.

After a while, Elena got up and went to sit alone on the steps. It was dark, but with the full moon shining bright, you could see parts of the view. She took in a breath of fresh air and closed her eyes for a minute. She felt like she was completely free and then she smiled. For the first time in a really long time she was happy just to be here. She felt her eyes starting to prick and a tear rolled down her cheek. She's never felt like this before, so happy that it made her cry. Then again, she was quite intoxicated, so her emotions were slightly out of control. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and then she smiled, laughing at herself.

"Hey," came Stefan's voice from behind her. "Can I join?"

"Of course you can," she answered.

"Elijah just went to bed. I think we're the only ones still up. Well given the fact that it's 2:30 in the morning, I'm not surprised." Elena giggled slightly and looked up at the view.

"So, are you going to tell me when you were laughing at the beerpong table?"

"I thought you had forgotten about that," she said.

"And I thought that there wasn't any reasons. However, now that you remember laughing, there's obviously a reason."

"There is a reason, but I'm not sure whether you're the right person to talk to about it," she answered. She didn't want to talk about Tyler possibly having a thing for his ex.

"If it's about Tyler and Caroline, I noticed it too. To be completely honest, I'm happy for her. I'm not saying that there's anything happening, but I've seen the way he looks at her and talks to her," he explained.

"Well yeah, that was the reason why I was laughing. Nothing crazy whatsoever," she simply said. Elena let out a sigh and Stefan couldn't help but ask, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just a little tipsy. Alcohol gets to me a little bit. First I go a little crazy and talk complete crap. I don't know how Nate handled that, then I get emotional and then I'm back to normal."

"So I'm going to have to deal with the emotional part?" he asked pretending to be annoyed.

"Oh no, you just missed it. You're safe, don't worry. You've got the normal me," she said and smiled at him.

Stefan scooted closer to Elena and wrapped his arm around her waist once again. She rested her head on his shoulder while she placed her hand on his knee, elbow on his thigh. He smiled at how perfect they seem to mould into each other.

"Your turn to explain why you're smiling now," Elena challenged.

"Us," he simply answered.

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

"We were talking about Caroline and Tyler possibly having something happening and yet here we are on the steps holding each other like it's the most natural thing."

"It feels natural," she said without thinking twice. She shifted her head slightly so she could see his face. At the same time he looked down at her and met her eyes. She lifted her head completely off of his shoulder and maintained eye contact. Her heart was drumming in her chest. It was one of those moments that make you feel like you're completely and utterly alone with the person sitting in front of you. Before either of them knew what was happening, they were leaning towards each other and their lips were about to touch when Stefan said: "I'm sorry about everything 'Lena." He then collided his lips to hers. She didn't care what happened last summer or even at the beginning of this summer, all she cared about was that she was kissing Stefan right now. What started out as a simple kiss turned into something else full of lust and passion. His hand that was placed around her waist was pushing her towards him even further. Without breaking the kiss, Elena straddled Stefan's lap. Both of his hands were around her waist securing her while her arms were around his neck. He gently licked her bottom lip before she smiled and gained him access. She could feel him smile against her lips as she continued kissing him. What was happening right now was something that they both have imagined countless number of times, but none of it matched what was actually happening.

Meanwhile in Mystic Falls, Damon was about to fall asleep when he got a text.

Elijah: Stefan. Elena. BAM! It's happening as I'm writing this. Just thought you should know.

**AN: My Stelena heart is in a million pieces after that last episode, I just had to make them kiss in my story! Reviews are what keeps me going ! :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Here's Chapter 16 for all of you wonderful readers! I can't thank you enough for the amount of reviews I got for the last chapter! They made me so happy! Although I take an awful lot of time to update, you should know that your reviews are what keeps me going. I hope that this chapter won't disappoint! **

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Elena woke up with a smile on her face. The events of last night were replaying in her head. The way they were holding each other on the steps as if it was the most natural feeling in the world. Right after that, they were kissing. It was passionate and full of lust. Elena never wanted that kiss to end; she wanted to stay on Stefan's lap forever. When they both pulled back for a much-needed breath, Stefan still held Elena close to him, pressing his forward to hers.

"I'm glad that this time you're not leaving me the next day," he said and smiled slightly.

Elena pecked him quickly before answering "I'm not going anywhere for another 3 weeks, Stef. I promise I'm not lying about when I'm really leaving either." She stood from his lap and turned around to once again look at the view lit by the moonlight.

"Good, because I don't want you to go anywhere," he answered standing up as well. He encircled her waist from behind and Elena leaned against his strong chest while intertwining her fingers with his. She winced slightly from the pain she felt in her hand. He held her tight and rested his chin on her head.

"Get that cut checked out when we get home, okay?" he said.

She simply nodded. Neither of them could stop themselves from thinking at how perfect they were together. They both felt so comfortable in the silence that followed; they didn't feel the need to talk.

"I promised to sort everything out, didn't I?" he asked in a low voice as if not to disturb the silence of the night.

"You didn't give up," she answered smiling and remembering the night they had danced to "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz.

"And deep down, neither did you," he said and kissed her temple. Elena closed her eyes at the touch trying to remember it forever.

Elena sat up and saw that everyone was still sleeping. She silently got out of her sleeping bag and took her bag to the bathroom. She quickly showered and put on white shorts and a turquoise tank top. She went into the kitchen and realized that someone else was awake. She saw his back and could have recognized it anywhere! Hearing something behind him, Stefan turned around, away from the oven, and saw Elena leaning against the doorframe. Her hair was damp and was framing her face perfectly. It was slightly wavy and fell like a chocolate fountain.

"Morning 'Lena," he said while taking a few steps towards her, spatula in hand. He bent down and kissed her softly on her lips.

"Morning Stefan," she answered and kissed him once more. They smiled at each other before he went back to the oven where he was making a huge pan of scrambled eggs.

"Stefan…" Elena started.

"I know what you're going to say. What are we? It's too soon after the break up with Caroline. We're going to destroy her if she find out, dot dot dot," stated Stefan. Elena chuckled lightly as that was exactly what she was thinking about.

"Stefan, last night was incredible. We talked and it was epic, but then the sun came up and reality set it," Elena said avoiding his gaze.

"Hey," he said and placed a warm hand on her cool cheek, forcing her to make eye contact. "This is reality 'Lena. Right here. Right now," he finished by kissing her lightly. Elena smiled because she knew what Stefan meant. Even though they couldn't be open to everyone about what was happening between them, to themselves however, they knew it was more than real. Elena leaned against the counter next to the oven and she watched Stefan scramble the eggs. They talked about nothing in particular until Matt and Tyler came and joined them in the kitchen. Before they knew it, everyone was more or less up already. Elena and Caroline set the table and soon enough scrambled eggs were being served. They all sat down randomly and as a coincidence, Stefan happened to be sitting next to Elena. Everyone was chatting cheerfully and planning the day out loud. Stefan discretely placed his hand on Elena's knee under the table. Stefan felt like a little kid all over again, trying to hide something that was so obvious. Opposite the couple, Elijah was sitting next to Caroline and well, Tyler. Elijah who saw what had happened between the couple the previous night thought that they were doing quite a good job at hiding it. But since he knew, he looked for any signs and that's when he noticed Stefan's hand under the table. It was at a slight angle from his body meaning that it was obviously placed on Elena's leg. He smiled slightly and just wished that Damon were there too, he would be happy right now.

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The day came and went and it was already time to go back to Mystic Falls. Everyone kept on talking about how amazing it was even if they didn't spend a long time at all in the camping house. Like Elijah said: "it was short enough to keep us busy all the day, but not long enough for us to get bored".

They arrived at the boarding house and Damon welcomed them. They had dropped everyone off to their houses along the way, so it was only Stefan, Elijah, Elena and Damon when they got to the Salvatore's. Elijah was the first one out of the car and already opening the boot to take out some of the supplies. Stefan and Elena got out of the car together; he was going towards the boot while she was walking to Damon. As they crossed path, Stefan gently squeezed her shoulder before carrying one. Elena smiled slightly and then she jumped into Damon's arm.

"I've missed you," she said. He lifted her from the ground and squeezed her more.

"I've missed you too," he said while putting her back on the ground. "What happened to your hand? I feel like I've missed only two freaking days of the summer and so much has happened!"

"What do you mean?" asked Elena. He couldn't possibly know. No one was with Stefan and Elena when anything happened, they were all asleep.

"First off you cut your hand, which by the way I'll take you to the doctor because I don't like the look of this bandage, and second of all..uhhhh, Stefan?"

Elena giggled before she could stop herself. "How do you know about that?" She wasn't going to deny it, not with Damon. He's been dealing with her crappy emotional self for the entire holidays, he deserved to know about them.

"Elijah saw it happening and he sent me a text. He said it started off quite cute, but then it kind of got disturbing to watch," sneered Damon.

She playfully hit his shoulder with her good hand before saying: "Of course Elijah would have been there! That would also explain why Elijah have been giving me weird looks all morning."

"Truth be told, I was disappointed you didn't tell me anything, Lena," came Elijah's voice from behind.

"Well I couldn't just announce it to you with everyone around. It was still all new to me too, I wanted a minute or two to actually let the situation sink in," Elena defended herself.

Stefan who was still at the car knew exactly what the three best friends were talking about. He didn't exactly know how they came upon the subject, but seeing Elena's face while she was getting picked on by her "two brothers" was adorable. He made his way to them with a stack of chairs in his arms. "Please leave my girl alone," he said and smiled at the thought that he could call Elena like that now. Just as the words came out of Stefan's mouth, Elena smiled like she never had before. Did he just call her "his girl"? She could live with that, she thought.

"Your girl?" both Elijah and Damon asked, pretending all of a sudden to not known anything at all.

"Don't pretend like you don't know anything. We're talking about you guys and Elena, nothing can remain a secret between you three," explained Stefan.

"Good point," Damon answered and nodded. Stefan went to the back of the house to drop the stack of chairs. The older Salvatore swung an arm around Elena's shoulder, "His girl huh?" he asked her.

"First time I've heard of it," she answered honestly. This morning they were both thinking how their relationship should remain kind of hidden at the moment and here he was calling her 'his girl' in front of Damon and Elijah.

"Remember that night at your house when I told you: Never say never?!" asked Damon with a smirk on his face.

"Thank you, Damon. Seriously, I don't know how you've managed to keep up with all of my crap throughout this summer."

"Hey, it's okay. What are friends for huh? It's absolutely fine. And you have no idea how happy I am for you guys. After everything you've both been through, I'm glad everything finally worked out," Damon said.

Elena placed a hand on his upper arm as a sign of appreciation and he nodded slightly. They both then turned and made their way to the car to help Elijah and Stefan unpack everything. After an hour or so of going back and forth between the car and the back of the boarding house, everything has been unpacked and cleaned.

"I'm exhausted," said Damon. "Who's up for a movie?"

"Damon, it's your last week in Mystic Falls, don't you want to be doing something a little more exciting. Like I don't know, go out?" said Stefan.

Damon looked at his watch and saw the time.

"Baby bro, it's 5:30, no one goes out this early, not even kids. So here's what I'm thinking. Movie, which will end at about 7ish, 7:30, dinner here will follow and then pre-drinks before we go out? Yeah?"

"Sounds good to me," answered Elena and the other two boys nodded.

"I'll text the group," said Elijah while taking his phone out of his back pocket. Simultaneously, Elena took her phone and decided to text Jeremy.

Elena: Hey Jer. Back from camp. Staying at D and S's. Dinner at 730 here. Going out after. Come :) xx

Jeremy: Glad you're back. So tired, won't come out. But will come for dinner ! :) love ya

The four friends went inside the living room and got comfortable. They all sat on the huge sofa facing the TV. Stefan was sitting on one side of the sofa and Elena made herself comfortable right next to him. His arm was around her shoulder and she had her back half pressed towards his side. One hand was placed on his leg while the other was playing with his fingers that were just on her shoulder. Damon and Elijah couldn't help but smile at the newly formed couple.

As none of them could pick out a movie to watch, they decided to settle for reruns of 'How I Met Your Mother'. They didn't want a movie that would require a lot of concentration as they were all pretty exhausted from the day and they needed to rest if they were going to go out that night. Throughout the first 15 minutes of the first episode, Elijah's phone kept on buzzing from texts he was receiving from people about tonight.

"Guys, looks like tonight is going to be only the four of us. Everyone is exhausted, apparently," he said after reading the final text.

"Well, we'll make it a good one, trust me here!" said Damon.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Again- sorry for the late update. I really don't have much time anymore and I'm sorry! Sending hate emails really isn't going to get me to update any faster- so please stop!  
I hope you all enjoy this chapter and take the time to review :) xx**

* * *

Once again, just like the time they watched The Hunger Games, everybody had fallen asleep in front of the TV. Elijah and Damon had rested their heads on the back of the sofa and their mouths were slightly open. Elena was curled into Stefan's side. Her head was on his shoulder and her right arm was slung across his waist. Her left arm was tucked between her chest and Stefan's side. Stefan's head was gently resting on Elena's head. Out of the four of them, they looked the most comfortable. Damon was the first to wake up. 7:02PM. 'Perfect timing', he thought to himself. As he stood up from the sofa, he couldn't help but smile when he saw how Stefan and Elena were positioned. If a stranger was to walk into the house right now, they would probably think that they have been dating for quite a while given how comfortable they already were with each other. Damon shook his head when he thought that they actually got together only yesterday- well this morning to be more official. He took his phone out and took a snapshot of the two. He wanted to have a picture to bring with him back in Switzerland. He wanted to make sure that what was happening was real and not just a dream- his best friend and baby brother had finally found their way to each other. The picture would remind him that he was right to never give up on them no matter how many times Elena had been an emotional wreck! Finally, Damon didn't want to bring back a picture of the two of them posing and smiling for the camera, no. He wanted one where neither knew that the picture was being taken, one that would show how it really is between them. Damon headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge to see what he could start cooking for dinner that night. There was 5 of them, including Jeremy and he was starving- Damon wanted something good!

Elijah eventually got up as well and joined the elder Salvatore in the kitchen.

"Stefan and Elena are full-out couply today", Elijah said as he entered the room. Damon closed the fridge and smirked.

"Give them a chance", Damon answered laughing.

"I think it's adorable, given everything they went through to get to where they are today. I'm also glad they can act like that around us. They trust us enough."

"What do you mean?" questioned Damon.

"Well, they're obviously not going to be super public about their relationship right now. Especially not in front of Caroline. He barely got out of a relationship with her and now he's with Elena. Caroline is going to be crushed and then go mental when she finds out. I mean you know how she can get. Then there's also the fact that Stefan is leaving a couple of weeks after you, meaning that Elena will be in Mystic Falls for a bit. Single or taken?" explained Elijah.

"No. no," Damon answered while shaking his head. "First off, Stefan is leaving a couple of days after Elena. He pushed his ticket back. Don't tell her that, Stefan wants to surprise her. He wanted to maximise his time with Elena, whether they were a couple or not. And secondly, I refuse to believe that they'll break up. It can't. I won't allow it. I don't want to see either Elena or Stefan crippled in pain. Elena has been through enough of that to last her a life time. I won't allow it to happen again!" he continued determined.

"Alright, calm down... No need to get all worked up about this," said Elijah trying to calm Damon down from his almost angry monologue.

"Sorry. It's just that I don't want to see her get hurt. Or him. But Elena's face when she's in pain is unbearable. I mean, you must have witnessed it since you practically live with her. Speaking of pain, I need to get Elena to the hospital for her hand. I wouldn't be surprised if she would need stitches."

"It wasn't that bad of a cut D."

"I'll take her anyways. Rather safe than sorry right ?"

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena had woken up not long after Elijah but she was too comfortable to move. She liked the feeling of Stefan's arm around her shoulders keeping her safe. She lifted her head slightly without realising that Stefan's head was on top of her's. As soon as she moved, his head fell on the back of the sofa and a small smile creeped unto his lips.

"You're staring," he simply commented without opening his eyes.

"Mh-hmm," Elena answered. She couldn't deny that she was more or less swooning at the Greek God sitting right next to her. Without any warning, Stefan grabbed Elena's waist and attacked her neck with kisses. She giggled out loud and started screaming a little when he tickled her. She fell on her back onto the couch and Stefan hovered over her still ticking her waist and kissing her neck.

"Stefan! Stefan, stop!" she yelled between two breaths. "Can't. Breathe. Stop!" she continued begging while laughing hysterically. He then suddenly stopped and looker at her. His deep mossy green eyes meeting her endless chocolate brown ones and pure love could be seen in both pair of eyes.

"Alright, alright. I'm done... For now," he gently said in a husky voice that made Elena's inside melt. He leaned forward and kissed her straight on the lips. Her arms which were on his biceps trying to prevent him from tickling her earlier made their way around his neck bringing him closer. He held most of his weight on his elbows as to not crush her but she didn't seem to mind when one of his arms circled her back pushing her body closer to his while deepening the kiss at the same time. Elena started tangling her hands in Stefan's hair while he tightened his hold around her waist. By now, more or less all of his weight was on her, but she sure wasn't complaining.

"Woah! Yeah, Elijah wasn't kidding when he said that it got disturbing watching you two!" Damon said as he caught them in their full-out making out session. As soon as the couple heard Damon's voice, they turned their attention to him. Elena turned bright red and hid her face in Stefan's chest. Damon chuckled a little bit at her reaction while arching an eyebrow at his brother.

"It wasn't going to go any further than this," Stefan answered Damon's silent question. Again, Damon chuckled.

"No judgement is being done," he said as he raised his hands, palms up, to his shoulders in a defensive manner with an upside down smile on his face. "It's just good too see you guys happy with each other. Although yes, very awkward. No more of that when I'm around please!"

Elena, who was still hiding her face in Stefan's shirt, laughed out loud upon hearing that. She didn't exactly know why she was laughing, nervous maybe ?! Stefan who was still hovering over her chuckled lightly while Damon shook his head with a smile on his lips.

'Lena, I need to get you to the doctor for your cut. I know it's probably not that big of a deal, but I don't want it to get infected, especially since we're going out tonight!" informed Damon. With that said, he left the couple and headed back to the kitchen.

Elena and Stefan laughed a little before he gave her one quick peck on the lips and then getting up to help in the kitchen. Elena was about to hold a knife to chop the tomatoes that Elijah had just taken out of the fridge when she heard Damon said: "Nope! You, me, hospital. Now! I also need to buy more food. No ways is there enough food for all of us !"

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

**(AN: Imagine the nurse as Doctor Bailey from Grey's Anatomy)**

"I knew you would have to get stitches for that cut," Damon exclaimed almost victoriously.

"Didn't know that would get you to be so happy," Elena said and winced slightly in pain.

"Sorry, Elijah and I were talking about it earlier and he was pretty convinced that the cut wasn't that deep."

"It sure is one hell of a cut," the nurse intervened, making both Damon and Elena laugh.

"So, Elena, how does it feel to finally be with Stefan?" he asked suddenly changing the conversation.

"Perfect. I know it really hasn't been long at all since we got together, but it just feel so natural," Elena answered unable to wipe the grin away from the face.

"Salvatore? Stefan Salvatore, your brother?" asked the nurse to Damon. "He sure is a hottie."

"Umm, what?" asked Damon.

"I'm just saying... I remember when he came in here after he broke his arm a few years ago. I was more than happy to take care of him- such a loving man! You girl, you better keep him," the nurse directed her last part to Elena. She couldn't help but laugh out loud. Here she was sitting on a hospital chair while the nurse stitching her hand was gushing over her boyfriend. The nurse was probably married and had a family of her own which made Elena totally comfortable with what she was saying.

"After everything they've been through, yeah, she better keep him alright," answered Damon. What was it about nurses that automatically made you want to open up to them? Was it because they were healing you, or was it because you just get one of those vibes from them? Whatever it was, Elena and Damon just kept on talking to her.

"You even waited for him? You go girl!" the nurse encouraged while finishing her stitches.

"Yeah, something along those lines," answered Elena amused.

"Well, you're all set to go. When you see Stefan, tell him Doctor Bailey says hi."

"Thank you. I promise I will pass on the message to Stefan. You have a good night," Elena answered and made her way out of the room. Damon nodded his thanks and followed Elena.

"Alright, let's get food and then get back home!"

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Meanwhile at the Salvatore boarding house, Elijah and Stefan were having more or less the same conversation.

"Thank you for being yourselves around Damon and I," Elijah started off.

"What do you mean?" asked Stefan. He was just as confused as his older brother when Elijah had made the same comment.

"You were discrete at the camping house this morning. You obviously don't want the public to know about you guys yet and I completely understand. It's just that I think it's nice that you can be like a couple with us in the house."

"Elena is your best friend and Damon is my brother and Elena's best friend as well, so I don't think it's fair to hide anything from you. I also know that I put Elena through a lot and she relied a lot on you guys. I'm sorry for that. Also the fact that neither of you gave up on us is what kept me hoping that maybe, just maybe, Elena hadn't given up on me."

"You're a good guy Stef... You're a good guy, although I could have killed you when Elena told me you got with Caroline!" he said and his anger almost rose again from the memory.

"Yeah, that was really messed up. I don't know what I was thinking! Was I even thinking ?"

Before Elijah could answer, the front door opened and Jeremy walked in. Elijah and Stefan were so immersed into their conversation that they didn't even hear his car drive in.

"Hey guys, how was the trip?" the young Gilbert asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Better for some than others," answered Elijah on the spot and it made Stefan laugh out loud.

Before Jeremy had a chance to question his curiosity, the front door opened once again, "We're back!" came Damon's voice. They both made their way to the kitchen and as soon as they entered, Elena jumped into Stefan's arms and hugged him tightly, oblivious to Jeremy's presence.

"Huh- now I understand," Jeremy said with a smile on his face.

The minute Elena heard her brother's voice she immediately let go of Stefan and turned around faster than lightning. "Shit, Jeremy!"

"Elena, chill, it's only me. Calm down," he answered cooly. The other three guys laughed while Elena just shook her head. Stefan took hold of her hand and examined the stitches.

"Quite the cut huh?" he asked before gently kissing it.

"Yeah. By the way, you've got quite a big fan in the hospital. Does Doctor Bailey ring a bell because she says hi!?" At the mention of her name, a smile broke across Stefan's face.

"That was one tough woman- didn't take shit from anybody!"

All five of them fell into an easy conversation after that. There was occasional hand holding from Stefan and Elena's part but nothing like what had happend on the couch earlier that afternoon. As dinner ended, Damon got the drinks out while Jeremy started saying goodbye to everyone. Elena begged him more than once to stay over, but he kept on refusing saying that he was absolutely dead tired. They all started off with a beer in the living room. Easy does it right ?  
An hour passed by and eventually a second one as well. They were all feeling the buzz of the alcohol by now and decided to walk to "Dance Forever" since it really wasn't that far. As they got in, Damon ordered a round of shots for everyone. Tequila. Elena was half squinting by the time she was biting into her lemon to chase away the taste. She absolutely hated tequila shots. The music picked up quite a bit and all four of them made their way to the floror. Stefan held Elena close, his hands placed on her upper back while her arms were on his shoulders. Their foreheads were pressed against each others, both enjoying the moment. Their first outing as a couple.

No one however, saw Caroline enter the club just an hour after them.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Here's another chapter! Uni has taken control over my life so I really don't know when I can update. I know I made you guys wait a month and a half and you should know that I feel horrible. I just don't have the time anymore!  
****I hope you haven't given up on the story.**

**Enjoy the chapter.. and please review ? :)**

**xx**

Caroline was home alone when Elena had texted her the plans for the night. However, she just wanted a quiet night in and watch a sappy chick flick with a tub of ice cream. As she stepped into her shower, while her iPod was playing on the counter, she started to sing along. Slowly but surely, she started to get in the party mood. Before she had a chance to understand what she was doing and to stop herself, she was already wearing a mid-thigh red dress that hugged her in all the right places. She had black shoes on and a light make-up, barely noticeable. As she entered the club, she expected to see Elijah, Damon, Stefan and Elena just dancing together in a circle and enjoying themselves. How wrong was she? The first thing she saw was Damon sitting at the bar, beer in hand, hitting on a random stranger and then she saw Stefan and Elena. Dancing. Closely. Way too closely. Caroline kept on staring as Stefan placed his forehead against Elena's and she noticed the way they smiled and looked at each other. Caroline didn't know what to feel: shock, happiness, anger, betrayal? As much as her mind was screaming at her to turn her head, her eyes were glued to the couple. She tried looking away; she wanted to look away but she just couldn't. Her eyes bulged out as she saw Stefan turn his head slightly sideways and kiss Elena right on the lips. The worst part, Caroline thought, was that Elena wasn't pulling back, instead she tightened her grip around his neck and pulled him closer.

Instead of walking to the couple, Caroline turned on her heels and headed straight to Damon.

"What the hell is going on?" a furious Caroline asked Damon.

"Well hello to you too, Blondie," Damon answered with a slight smirk on his face.

"I am not in the mood right now. What. The. Hell. Is going on?" she asked again, emphasizing each word.

"What do you mean?" he asked, playing dumb as his eyes zeroed in on Stefan and Elena kissing in the background. "Shit", he thought to himself. "Can I get you a beer?" he offered trying feebly to change the conversation.

"You didn't answer my question," she replied and arched her eyebrows and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Caroliiiiine, we didn't expect to see you here," came Elijah's slightly drunk voice. Hanging onto his arm was a girl that neither Caroline nor Damon had met before. She had bits of sticky paper all over her shirt making a Peace Sign. As Elijah locked eyes with Damon he immediately understood that things were about to blow. Elijah whispered something in the girl's ear and she smiled before walking away.

"Did you kiss her, just like Stefan and Elena are?" asked Caroline before pursing her lips.

"No, I didn't kiss her and... What was that last part?" Elijah asked as Caroline's words registered in his mind.

"You know damn well what I said." Caroline was not in the mood to have a playful chitchat, not after what she saw. She loved Damon and Elijah, but right now she could kill anyone if it meant getting the truth from them. She was on fire, and having Elijah and Damon playing dumb only added petrol to the already burning flame.

"I really can't hear you, come outside with me," Elijah concluded before reaching for her hand and pulling her towards the door. Caroline didn't have a chance to argue so she followed with a determined pace.

Damon took this as his cue to go talk to Stefan and Elena, who were still embraced in each other's arms, like Caroline had mentioned.

"Sorry to interrupt but Caroline is here and saw you... So we've got a bit of a crisis," the elder Salvatore said.

"I'll go talk to her," Elena immediately answered. She knew that she needed to explain everything to Caroline. Knowing her friend, she probably thinks that Stefan has been cheating on her. Elena stepped outside and straight away spotted an angry Caroline throwing an outburst while Elijah was standing in front of her trying to calm her down. The brunette walked up to them while trying to figure out what exactly to say to Caroline. The closer she got, the dryer her mouth was.

"Caroline," she said when she was close enough. The blonde turned around and Elena could see a mix of emotions in her eyes: hurt, betrayal, sadness and the most visible one was Anger.

"Don't you 'Caroline' me with that angelic voice of yours. How could you? You were meant to be my friend and help me get over Stefan, not hook up with him!"

"It's not like that..." Elena started.

"Oh, so I didn't just see you have your tongue down his throat moments ago? Please Elena, do explain then," interrupted Caroline her voice full of sarcasm.

"It's a long story..." Elena started again only to be cut off by Caroline for the second time now.

"'It's a long story'? What the hell is that suppose to mean, that he was cheating on me with you ?"

"Caroline, let Elena explain," Elijah said.

"Oh, so you know this whole 'long story' as well and you just thought it would be appropriate to just not tell me shit!"

"Let me explain," begged Elena.

"Whatever. If it's a long story maybe it can wait because right now, I don't have time for your shit. Have a good night with my ex," Caroline answered before storming off towards the parking lot. Elijah and Elena both watched as Caroline got into her car and sped away. Elena started making her way back inside.

"Where are you going?" her best friend asked.

"To the bar. Join me?" Elijah smiled and walked with her back inside the club. Apparently they weren't the only ones who decided to have a few drinks because both Salvatores had 3 empty shot glasses in front of each of them. As Elijah and Elena joined the brothers, they both looked up expectantly.

"Not good," answered Elena reading their minds. "So I'm just going to have a shot, and maybe another one and probably one more after that."

The three boys laughed and decided to join her.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Elijah was sitting alone on the steps right outside the entrance when Elena spotted him.

"Hello best friend," she said with a slight slur to her voice while taking a seat next to him.

"Best friend?" he repeated and chuckled a little.

"Would you rather I call you brother?" Elijah laughed out loud before nodding. Elena suddenly got up again for no reason and that's when Elijah really noticed her shirt. There were pieces of paper stuck on it to form a smiley face.

"What happened to your shirt?" Elena looked down and giggled.

"I have no idea. I mean, I remember this girl taking the paper off of their shirt and sticking it on the bar and then I took it and made a piece of art on my shirt. But I have no idea who she was," Elena admitted. Elijah once again laughed out loud because he knew exactly who the girl was; she was the one he was talking to at the start of the night.

"Sometimes I wonder how the hell you became my best friend. But then I see this and I remember exactly why. You do the weirdest things at the most unexpected times. Seriously, I wish everyone has a friend like you. You just make life worth living."

"Awww, you're not so bad yourself Mr. Mikaelson," she answered before heading back inside towards the bar. This time, she needed water- lots of it.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

"Come outside for a second, please?" asked Stefan to Elena as he took hold of her hand and intertwined their fingers. "It's important."

Elijah, Stefan, Damon and Elena were still out on their night out. Yes, it had gotten really rough when Caroline showed up, but Elena kept on drinking to the point of not really caring. However she had sobered up by now by still decided not to worry about it just now. The reason she went out with her two guy bestfriends and her boyfriend was to have a good time, not to stir up drama. Her drunken thoughts were: I'll fix it in the morning, it's more appropriate.  
As she followed Stefan outside, she couldn't quite understand what was so important that he needed to talk to her right now. She gave him a questioning look but kept on following him nonetheless. He sat down on the steps at the entrance and had his back towards the party. She sat down beside him and patiently waited for Stefan to say something. Throughout the entire time, Stefan hadn't let go of Elena's hand.

"We screwed up with Caroline, didn't we?" Stefan asked going straight to the point.

"Yeah we did, we hurt her Stef. She didn't know anything and suddenly she sees us on the dancefloor kissing. I probably would have reacted the same way, I would have gone ballistic."

"Funny you say that, because you didn't," Stefan answered. His eyes met Elena's confused one. "Caroline and I aren't together and she went mental when she saw us. Caroline and I still weren't together and you kept your calm when you saw us at the start of the summer."

"Yeah, because you guys had a thing going on. It was expected."

"And we didn't have anything?" he questioned.

"Stefan..." Elena started. What was she suppose to say. They didn't have anything going on between them, did they? "Things got messy when I left the other time. Then you and Caroline just picked up from where you left off. I was expecting it, Caroline wasn't."

They both heard footsteps behind them and noticed that Damon had joined.

"Hey Damon, come sit down with us," said Stefan.

The older Salvatore sat down with the couple but they continued to talk as if he wasn't there at all. Soon enough, Damon decided to leave because he felt like Stefan and Elena had a lot of talking to do; talking that didn't involve him.

"You know what sucks?" Stefan suddenly asked after a moment of silence.

"Ummm, no. Not really," Elena answered unsure of where this conversation was going.

"The fact that we've seen each other so many times during this summer but we never took the time to sit down and talk," he explained.

"What are you talking about? We've talked thousandth of time."

"Yeah, but it was always some deep conversations that usually ended up with one of us being hurt. We've never sat down and just talked." Elena chuckled a little bit.

"True, but there were always other things happening Stef. We were both busy and when we did talk we always went straight to the point. At least now we get to spend some time together, even if it's not from the very start of the holidays."

"I wish it was more time," Stefan admitted and looked at his feet.

"Everyone wishes for a lot of things, but they don't necessarily get it. You just got to learn how to be happy with what you have. Concerning spending time together, better late than never, right?"

"Better late than never indeed," he answered and kissed her gently on the lips.

"You know what sucks even more?" It was Elena's turn to ask the question.

"Nope. I guess it's your turn to explain," Stefan said with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Damon is leaving Friday, so in 5 days, and then you're leaving the week after," Elena choked out the last words. She was having such a good time with him that she didn't realise that soon enough, they'll have to separate. Once again. The reaction she got from Stefan wasn't one she expected though. He was smiling. Properly smiling, a smile reaching his eyes. Was he happy to be leaving her? Elena couldn't understand.

"I'm leaving a couple of days after you are 'Lena. I pushed my ticket back," he explained. It was Elena's turn to smile. Her eyes crinkled as she threw her arms around his neck.

"Why would you do that?"

"I don't start until late September, so what's the point of leaving at the beginning of the month? I also wanted to spend as much time as possible with you. I want to catch up on all the times that we've wasted together. You make me feel things that no one else has. When I'm with you, I can't help myself from smiling. You've got this glow about you when you're happy and I never want to see that go away. I feel like you're making me a better man, you make me see things differently. You're beautiful in and out. I don't know if Elijah and Damon are aware of how lucky they are to call you their best friend. Like I said ages ago: you've become the definition of 'Perfect'. But the main reason I pushed my ticket back is because I love you."

"What?" she wasn't sure she heard him properly.

"You heard me: I love you 'Lena."

**AN: Stefan dropped the 'L' bomb ! :) Next chapter is going to focus Caroline and Elena's relationship as well as Damon's leaving :(**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Here's another chapter for you lovely readers. There's not exactly a lot happening, but it's things that I couldn't just ignore. I hope you're going to like it. This story is nearly done, only a few more chapters to go... Maybe 2 or 3! But I'll definitely be writing other stories!  
**

**A shout-out goes to notorrious who has helped me come up with ideas for this chapter! Thank you :)**

**Enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think :)  
****xx**

* * *

_"You heard me: I love you 'Lena."_

Elena didn't know what to answer. She did love him, yes, without a doubt, but she was still leaving in three weeks for Toronto and then what happens? They would separate once again for God knows how long. She wanted to say it back, she wanted him to hear those three little words coming from her, but she just couldn't form them.

"You don't have to say it back, 'Lena. I just thought that you should know how I feel about you," Stefan told her. She looked into his eyes and couldn't see a trace of disappointed, just pure love. He accepted the fact that he might have expressed his feelings way too fast when it hasn't been that long since they started dating. He knew how Elena felt about him, and he would wait to hear those three words coming from her.  
Instead of saying anything, Elena leaned in and kissed him.

"You're perfect," she whispered against his lips before kissing him once more.

An hour or so later, all four of them decided to go back home. They were walking in the middle of the road since it was early morning and more or less the entire of Mystic Falls was asleep. As they approached the boarding house Stefan suddenly said "I want to lay in the grass." Elijah chuckled out loud and so did Damon and Elena.

"Well no one is stopping you," the brunette answered. Without thinking twice, Stefan dropped to the ground and laid on his back. Elijah and Damon did the same making Elena the odd one out. She didn't hesitate to join the boys and soon enough she was on her back as well. As she laid down, her hand accidentally brushed against Stefan's and he intertwined their fingers together. Elena couldn't help the smile from creeping onto her face as she tightened her grip in his hand.

"Let's look at the stars," he said with a hint of sleep in his voice.

"Yeah, if you can see any through those clouds," Elena answered. Little did she know that he was looking at her when mentioning the stars. Elijah and Damon who were laying down on either side of them were listening to their conversation and couldn't stop themselves from smiling either.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena woke up late the next morning. She was alone in her house for the very first time after a night out- no one had came to sleepover. It felt slightly weird to her because in some way, she could sense that summer was quickly coming to a close. Damon was already leaving in 4 days, and three weeks after that it will be her turn to leave. What is going to happen between her and Stefan. They're both going to university, meet new people, lead different lifestyles, it's not going to be that easy to maintain a long distance relationship. Was their love even strong enough to give it a shot? Yesterday when he told her he loved her, she choked and couldn't say it back. She wanted to, but then she thought of the upcoming three weeks and couldn't get herself to say it. Saying "I Love You" to someone isn't something that comes naturally, it's not meant to be thrown at anybody anytime. "I Love You" almost takes your relationship to the next step. Was she ready for that? Yes, she was. But was her future allowing her to welcome it? No, it wasn't.

She got out of bed with a sigh. "First things first", she thought to herself. That 'first thing' was to talk to Caroline. What happened last night had obviously come as a shock to her. Stefan and Elena had planned on telling her, but they weren't sure when; Caroline was extremely unpredictable in those situations. Elena jumped in the shower, grabbed the first pieces of clothes she could find, gulped down a glass of orange juice before finding herself behind her steering wheel in front of Caroline's house. She slowly opened her door and walked towards Caroline's front porch breathing in deeply. She knocked on the door three times before she heard shuffling coming from inside of the house. The door opened and Caroline was now standing in front of Elena.

"What do you want?" asked Caroline immediately, not bothering to hide her anger. She had calmed down a little bit since the night before, but she was still trying to get ver what she saw.

"I need to explain last night."

"Oh that's right. It's the 'long story' that you couldn't be bothered to tell me last night."

"You stormed off before I even had a chance to explain myself, Care!" Elena answered, her voice rising a little. She then mentally told herself to calm down, she was here to fix things with Caroline, not to create another spark. Caroline just glared at Elena wondering whether she was saying the truth or not.

"Can I come in? We can sit down and I'll explain everything," Elena offered. Caroline thought a little before giving a short nod and opening the door a little more.

Both girls sat in the living room on the couch.

"First off, Stefan never cheated on you," Elena started. All doubts should be erased from Caroline's mind, Elena thought. "You know him, he's been your best friend for ages and you know that he isn't that kind of guy."

Caroline once again nodded. For some reason, she felt calmer as the minutes passed. Was it because Elena was willing to explain everything, or maybe she had time to sleep over it? Whatever the reason was, Caroline was ready to hear the story.

"It started when I first saw Stefan during that New Year's Eve Party- 2 years ago. Remember that night? We spent the entire night taking care of drunk Stefan and drunk Damon. From what I remember, it was a good night and you and I were having such a good time." Caroline smiled a little bit at the memory. It had been a good night indeed.

"Stefan and I hadn't seen each other in a long time and when we did, it just kind of clicked, like we've always known each other," Elena went on. "Then you threw a party a couple of weeks later and we saw each other again. Conversation just came so easily and at the club..." Elena wasn't sure how to go on "We got together that night, Caroline. It was in the middle of the dance floor and no one was around to see it. We've never really talked about it and the only other people who knows are Damon and Elijah. So I was obviously starting to have feelings for him but hey! I had to go back to Bulgaria so everything just ended. Then Jenna comes back and tells me about you and him."

Caroline remained speechless as Elena was telling the story.

"I was so happy for you because I knew that he was a great guy and you deserved him. I thought it was especially cute since you guys have been best friends for the past few years. Then you guys called it off when you left for Australia because you both considered it to be a summer fling. Stefan and I kept in touch, we talked quite often and then summer came along. I was half expecting you guys to pick up from where you left off, and you did."

"Why didn't you tell me anything?" Caroline asked with tears building up in her eyes. "You should have said something. All of those times that I kept asking what you thought of Stefan and I and you kept saying that you were happy. I didn't know that things had happened between the two of you before. I wouldn't have done that, you know? If I knew that you guys had something going on."

"Care, there wasn't anything happening between Stefan and I. It was just a hook up and I fell for him way too fast. Then you guys broke up and we kind of started again. But he never cheated Care, and I would never do that to you," Elena explained with her own tears building up.

"I'm so sorry! I should have seen the way he looked at you from the very start. He looks at you in a way that I always wished he would look at me. I decided to ignore it because I was selfish and because I didn't know your history. I'm so sorry 'Lena," Caroline said with tears streaming down her face causing Elena's tears to free fall as well.

"It's not your fault. We're happy now," Elena answered and opened her arms. Caroline fell into her embrace. Both girls let their tears fall without bothering to stop them. All of the things that they hadn't told each other was now out and everything was forgiven. They held each other for a long time before they heard the doorbell ring. Caroline wiped her tears with the back of her hand and made her way towards her front door. She opened it and before her stood Stefan.

"I came here to explain everything," he started. That's when he looked behind Caroline's shoulder and saw Elena and noticed how both of their faces were red and their eyes slightly puffy.

"I think I'll leave you two to talk," Elena said. She hugged Caroline one last time and looked over to Stefan and mouthed "It's going to be okay" and gave him a reassuring smile. He nodded and smiled slightly. Elena let go of her friend and walked past Stefan squeezing his arm slightly before making her way to the car. Caroline smiled at the gesture.

"Elena explained everything, don't worry Stefan," Caroline said giving him a warm smile.

"I figured. But as your ex and one of your closest friend, you still need to hear it from me," Stefan insisted and returned her smile. Caroline invited him in and he sat where Elena was on the couch.

"Why didn't you tell me Stef?"

"I didn't know what to do Care. I mean I was with Elena and then a couple of weeks later I was with you. I didn't know what to make of it. Then this summer came and we kind of just picked up from where we left off. I didn't know how to stop it," he said and looked down shamefully. Caroline cupped his cheek with the palm of her hands and forced him to look at her.

"Don't blame yourself for this Stefan. We're not together anymore and one of the main reason for this is because I love you. No, not in that way, but in a brotherly kind of way. You've always been there for me and I know that I can count on you, I don't want that to change."

"Me neither, Care. Me neither," Stefan replied and flung his arm around her shoulder bringing her in to hug her. They stayed cuddled up on the couch a while longer both thankful for their unbreakable friendship bond. Maybe it's possible to have a friend who's a girl and not anything more after all, Stefan said. Now that they've both indirectly agreed on limits, it might be good to have Caroline back in his life as a best friend.

"So Tyler, huh?" Stefan asked jokingly.

"Shut up," she answered with a smile on her face.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Friday had come in a flash and it was already time for Damon to leave and go back to Switzerland. The night before he had a small gathering with everyone he knew. It was nice having Tyler, Matt, Katherine, Bonnie, Nate, Meredith, Rebekah and everyone else there. Even Alaric had decided to come by and say goodbye to Damon. Nothing too crazy was happening, it was just a simple meal all together just so they could see each other one last time before they separated. Elijah, Ric, Elena and Jeremy decided to stay over on Thursday night. Elena wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to Damon. After everything she put him through, she felt as though she didn't have enough time to be with him and just be happy, she always had to burden him with her Stefan problem. When she finally got with Stefan, she spent so much time with him, and not Damon.

Damon was leaving Friday mid-day. However the entire house was up at 8 in the morning. Elena had woken up with a heavy heart that morning. No matter how many times Stefan had held her last night telling her it was going to be okay, she wasn't ready for Damon to leave. She was never good with goodbyes, and when it concerned one of her best friends, she really couldn't handle it. When everyone was saying goodbye to him yesterday after dinner, Elena had hid in the bathroom because she couldn't watch the faces of her friends while saying goodbye to him. It seemed like Elena was over reacting to it but to her goodbyes felt like forever. She lost the two people she loved the most when she was least expecting it. Her parents. Now, whenever she said goodbye to someone, she feels as though it might be the last time because she didn't know what the future had planned for them.

As Damon was packing his suitcase in the car, the rest of them were outside waiting to say goodbye. As his last luggage was packed he turned around and faced the group with a hint of sadness in his baby blue eyes. He hugged all three boys and patted them on the back. Elena was the last one to say goodbye. She hugged him and quickly let him go barely managing to get "Good bye Damon" out.

"No. Don't give me that crap Elena. You're pulling the Caroline move; you're trying to block all your emotions out to make this as painless as possible," Damon responded as he took hold of her shoulders. Elena's jaw clenched attempting to bloke the tears from falling. "Come here," he said and pulled her into a tight hug. Her face was hidden in his chest and she finally let herself break down, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

"You're going to be okay 'Lena. In no time you're going to be starting a new life in Toronto. You're going to meet new people and have a blast. Next summer we'll be back here again and it will be just like old times," he comforted her. She nodded slightly as she reluctantly pulled away. He kissed her on her forehead before looking at Stefan and saying "Take care of her baby bro," and winked as he made his way to the car.

Damon started the engine, and with one last wave of his hand, he was gone.

**AN: Please let me know what you think of the chapter and/or what should be included in the next. Your reviews mean so much to me!**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: I am so so SO sorry for the almost 2 month wait! That is ridiculous on my part. I have my reasons however, but I'd rather PM it to you rather than share it out here, so if you want to know- you know what to do. :)**

**The end of this chapter wasn't meant to be like this, at all… But I couldn't help it. I hope you enjoy it!****Please, read and review- your opinions are always valued.**

Stefan and Elena stayed on the front porch of the boarding house until the last cloud of dust from Damon's car settled down.

"I guess it's just you and I then," Stefan started.

" And Caroline and Jeremy and Elijah and Katherine and Alaric and the rest of the group. Summer isn't over Stef," Elena answered.

"No, it isn't… But it sure feels like it," he said and gave her a weak smile. He would never admit it, but Stefan hated goodbyes more than anything else. Saying goodbye to his brother every summer is what he dreaded the most. Damon had moved to Bulgaria when he was 13 years old, both Elena and Stefan were 9. Stefan thought that as the years would go by, it would get easier to say goodbye but quite the opposite happened. As they grew older, their brotherhood bond and friendship became stronger. It was a bond that every sibling wish they had with each other. They were best friends; they were brothers.

"How about we do something, just you and I tonight?" asked Stefan. "Everyone is going to be leaving soon and we're going to want to spend time with them. then eventually by the end of summer, we wouldn't have sent any alone time together."

Elena saddened at the thought of leaving Stefan so soon. In 2 weeks, she'll be gone. They've only been together for a couple of days yet it feels as though they've been a couple for as long as she can remember. Everything seemed so natural to the both of them.

"I'd love that," she answered as she slid her arms around his waist. He kissed her forehead before wrapping her in his own strong built arm.

"Pick you up at 7" he said softly and he could feel Elena smile against his chest as a response.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

At 7pm sharp, Elena heard the doorbell ring. She was wearing an electric blue knee-length dress that flowed easily around her body. Her hair had dried naturally resulting into soft curls. Minimal make-up was applied but nevertheless, Stefan thought she was breathtaking. He was wearing a low cut washed out pair of jeans and a navy blue, almost black shirt. His hair was tussled up to perfection.

'Greek God', she thought to herself and smiled.

"You look beautiful," Stefan said while holding her gaze.

"You clean up quite well Salvatore."

The car drive was silent but neither of them thought that it was an uncomfortable one. They were just enjoying each other's company, however Elena decided to speak first.

"Don't you think that it's weird? That sometimes you can stay silent and it's absolutely fine and other times it's extremely awkward?"

"Was it awkward for you just then?" Stefan asked.

"No, not at all, but how does it work?"

"I think it depends on who you're with. Sometimes you know the other person well enough that you know what they're thinking without them even speaking. Other times, you're just enjoying each other's company and don't feel the pressure of having to speak to each other. Sometimes it's both. Then there are the times where you might not know the person well and you don't have anything to tell them. Those are the awkward silences."

Elena having no answer to that simply smiled. She was glad and almost relieved to know that her silences with Stefan weren't uncomfortable, they were enjoyable."

They arrived at the Grill a few minutes later and as usual it was buzzing with people from all ages. Stefan picked a table at the far hand, slightly secluded so him and Elena could have some privacy.

"I'm sorry we couldn't go in a more romantic place," he apologized.

"Hey, don't start this now. I'm here with you and that's all that matters. Besides, I love Mystic Grill. The food is good, the atmosphere is good and the company isn't so bad," she added with a wink. He chuckled slightly and then beamed at her.

They fell into light conversation talking about everything and anything. They were both enjoying the fact that it was only the two of them and no one was there to interfere. They loved hanging out with everyone, but having some time to themselves did some good to the couple.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Elena reached for Stefan's hand across the table and held it. She liked to feel the warmth it brought to her; the safety that he seems to hold in just his hand.

"It's crazy when you think about how we got to where we are now. All the struggles, the tears, the talks with Damon and Elijah," she started.

"But they were all worth it because today I think I might be the luckiest man on Earth," he answered and squeezed her hand gently. She smiled and shyly looked away. "I love you," he added.

Elena's smile faded slowly and once again she didn't say it back. It was the second time now. This time around, however, she could see that he was hurt and he was expecting her to say it back. His mouth had become a thin line and his eyes had lost all of its playfulness. He let go of her hand and intertwined both of his hands in his lap underneath the table.

"Stefan, you said those exact three words the day we officially stated dating. Hearing you say them to me makes my heart do and feel things that I didn't know were possible. But it was the day we started dating!" Elena raised her voice accidently. "I don't know when you knew that you were in love with me but I've never said it to anyone. You don't just throw those words to someone…"

"I mean it with you, Elena, I'm not just throwing them to your face, " Stefan interrupted, anger making its way into his tone of voice. "I knew that I was in love with you the moment I saw you again at Caroline's place at the very start of the summer. I just never acted upon it because I was afraid of what everyone else would have thought, what Caroline would have thought."

"That's not what I meant. It's just that I'm leaving in two weeks and we're going to be separated again. Saying 'I love you' is just going to get me even more attached than I already am and I don't think that I can handle a heartbreak right now."

"Who said there was going to be a heartbreak?"

"It's inevitable Stef. I'm going to Toronto to be a psychologist and you're off to New York to become a doctor. You're going to meet an intelligent, young, beautiful girl who's going to share the same passion as you. You're going to fall madly in love and it's clear that I'm not going to be a part of your future Stefan," Elena explained and a tear strolled down her cheek.

"That's crazy talk 'Lena," he answered and reached for her hand again. "Why would I look for an intelligent, young, beautiful girl in New York when there's the perfect girl for me with all of those qualities sitting right in front of me?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin the night. It started off so well and…"

"The night isn't over yet. Come, let's get out of here, I've got somewhere I'd like to show you," he said as he stood up and held out his hand towards her. She held onto it and intertwined their fingers while making their way back to his car.

Once again, the ride was silent, but they could both feel the tension from the conversation earlier. They didn't drive for long, but long enough for them to feel that the air was fresher outside.

"Where are we?" she asked as she looked around and could see only tall trees surrounding her. She looked over at Stefan and realized that he had made himself comfortable on the hood of his car with his hands behind his head and his right leg bent at the knee. Elena smiled at how relaxed he seemed and decided to join him. As soon as she sat on the hood, Stefan gave a small smile and extended his left arm, inviting her into his embrace. Elena leaned down and she shivered slightly as her back touched the cold metal. She laid her head onto his shoulder and soon enough, she felt Stefan's arm curl around her shoulders. She repositioned herself onto her side, making herself more comfortable next to his warm body. Her left arm was placed around his waist and she tangled her legs with his left one.

"Comfortable enough?" he teased slightly.

"Very," Elena answered and gave his neck a light peck. "So why did you bring me here?"

"Look straight up," he simply answered. Elena obeyed and gasped slightly. Never had she seen so many stars before. It was as if the trees had made a hole in the canopy just for them so they could enjoy the view.

"See those three stars lined up diagonally?" Stefan asked while pointing up at the stars. She followed his finger and sure enough she could see it.

"That's Orion's belt," he told her. "And if you look a little to the right, where five faint stars form a semi-circle, that's his shield," he continued while pointing again.

"How do you know all of this?" she asked fascinated.

"One night, I just needed space and a bit of a getaway from Mystic Falls so I got in my car and just drove. I accidently drove to this exact spot when I got a puncture. So while I waited for the tow-truck to come, I did just what we're doing right now, I laid on the hood and looked at the stars. Once I got home, I googled the different constellations and now I come here from time to time. Mostly I come here when I need some time alone to think, to come to terms with myself or just because I feel like it," Stefan told her. As he was telling her the story, her eyes were fixed on his Greek God-like face and for the first time, she noticed how truly beautiful he is. She always knew that, but something about what he just said made her realize that he's more than just Stefan Salvatore, the kid who grew in Mystic Falls. There was so much more to him.

"I found this place about five years ago, yet you're the first person I ever shared it with," he confessed.

"Why?"

"Because I have a feeling that you're going to be in my life for a while," he simply answered and tightened his grip around Elena's shoulders.

"Stefan?"

"Yeah?'

"I love you."

Stefan turned his head to face her to make sure that he heard her correctly. Her eyes glowed with happiness and she had a smile that could light up the world. He indeed, had heard her correctly. He couldn't help but return the same smile. His eyes twinkled as his grin grew even more.

"But earlier at the grill you said that…"

"I know what I said at the grill," she interrupted him. "But whether I said it to you now or later, my feelings for you aren't going to change. If anything happens, it's only going to be stronger. I'd just be fooling myself if I waited any longer."

Stefan used his arm that was around her shoulders to push her completely on him. She was now lying entirely on him, her legs still tangled with his, her elbows on his chest while her hands played with her hair just above his ear. She locked eyes with him and couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"Say it once more, please?" he asked her.

"Stefan Salvatore, I love you," she repeated and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"I don't think anymore, I now definitely know that I'm the luckiest man on Earth," he said against her lips, before tightening his hold around her waist and holding her close.

**AN: Let me know your thoughts and suggestions :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter although i don't feel like it's my best piece of work :/**


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